The Ranger Oct. 22, 2012

Single copies free • 210-486-1773

Issue 66 •• Oct. Oct. 22, 22 2012 Vol. 87 Issue

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This week Early voting begins today Early voting for the general election starts today and continues through Nov. 2.

Registered voters can vote at any early voting location.

The closest polling site to the college is the VIA Metropolitan Transit Center, 1021 San Pedro Ave. Hours of operation for early voting locations are 8 a.m.–6 p.m. today-Friday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Saturday and noon-6 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 28.

Hours Oct. 29-Nov. 2 are 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Voters may vote in their precinct 7 a.m.-7 p.m. on Election Day Nov. 6.

Sample ballots and other early voting locations can be found at www.bexar.org/elections091004/ index.html.

For more information, call the Bexar County Elections Department at 210-335-8683.

Ingrid Wilgen

HIV testing set for this week Peer Educators will sponsor free HIV testing 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Thursday and Friday in Room 101 of the nursing complex.

Hope Action Care, a nonprofit community-based organization, will provide test materials and administer the actual test. The test, conducted in private, is an oral swab called OraQuick and requires no needles.

Results are available in 15 minutes.

Along with testing, Hope Action Care will provide information on HIV prevention.

“Anybody who is sexually active should get tested,” Peer Educator Mariana Solis said.

Hope Action Care, 132 W. Grayson St., provides health education, promotion and support services to people who have disabilities, are low-income or are homeless, according to the website at www.http://hopeactioncare.org.

For more information, call Peer Educators at 210-486-1448.

Carlos Ferrand

/ReadTheRanger

@TheRangerSAC

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Hofstra University junior Corinne Mestemacher poses with life-size cut out cardboards of President Obama and Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney ahead of the second presidential debate Oct. 16 in Hempstead, N.Y. AccuNet/AP

Debate tonight could be crucial

By INGRID WILGEN

icobham@student.alamo.edu

President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney are battling it out on the debate floor to explain to America the merits of their positions on issues.

Two presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate have given the public an unfiltered view of the differences in the Democratic Obama-Biden and Republican Romney-Ryan tickets. The last of three debates will air at 8 p.m. today.

Government Professor Wanda Lee Smith said the presidential debates will not change the minds of voters aligned closely to their party or to those who have made their choice.

Smith said the debates are important to undecided voters.

Undecided voters who are citizens of swing states are critical players.

Battleground states may just deter-

A debate booklet is held up after the second presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney at Hofstra University. AccuNet/AP mine the outcome of the election, Smith said. According to Politico, the swing states are Colorado, Florida,

Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio and Wisconsin. Politico promises “insid-

er-like access to Washington and the latest from the world of politics” at www.politico.com. As of Wednesday, Politico shows a small Democratic lead in swing state votes.

Dr. Paul Wilson, social sciences and humanities chair, said the debates become more important the closer the election gets. Wilson said many viewers rely on coverage from news organizations to interpret what candidates say during the debates.

He said it is important for voters to take time to watch the debates to get a first-hand experience.

“You can’t delegate that responsibility to others,” Wilson said.

Smith said to look at multiple issues when considering voting for a candidate. “Don’t get swayed on only one issue,” she said.

The debates can be viewed at www.2012presidentialelectionnews. com/2012-debate-schedule.

Tobin Lofts to begin leasing Nov. 1 Office will match roommates for the fall 2013 semester.

By ALMA LINDA MANZANARES amanzanares6@student.alamo.edu

Applications to live on campus when Tobin Lofts opens in August will be accepted beginning Nov. 1 in a leasing office in Building 19 of the continuing education annex, 309 W. Dewey Place.

Tobin Lofts is a four-story, public-private partnership at the northwest corner of North Main Avenue and East Laurel Street, which includes residential space, commercial space and a parking garage.

Groundbreaking for the lofts will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday in Lot 26 at Evergreen Street and Main. The lot will be closed from Oct. 24-25 for the event. West Evergreen street will be closed between Howard and Main beginning today for construction of the lofts.

A banner advertising the residential housing availability will be displayed on campus Thursday, general manager Renee Cavazos said.

The public/private partnership was first proposed at a Building, Grounds and Sites Selection Committee meeting Feb. 16, 2010.

Room rates and the application fee have not been determined, Cavazos said.

However, David Mrizek, vice president of college services, told The Ranger April 25, 2011, that apartments are estimated to be $925 for a one bedroom, one bath; $1,400 for a two bedroom, two bath; and $2,000 for a four bedroom, four bath.

At Pizza with the President Sept. 13, President Robert Zeigler said apartments are estimated to be $600 to $700 per month.

The lofts will provide 552 beds in furnished apartments and with all bills paid, Cavazos said.

At the June 12 Buildings, Grounds and Site Selection Committee, Jim Plummer, a partner in Fulbright and Jaworski LLP, said the Tobin Lofts is a 225-unit residential development for students, faculty and staff.

Cavazos said 65 beds will be available for families and faculty and staff in a building connected to the parking garage that will be constructed in Lot 26 at Evergreen Street and Main.

Each unit in the student area contains four beds, so if students do not have roommates, the leasing office will match roommates based on a questionnaire, Cavazos said.

“You’d fill out a questionnaire and we’d match somebody who we feel will closely match to you, and they will be your roommate,” she said.

At the June 12 committee meeting, Plummer said the commercial frontage at the lofts will include a fitness room; leasing center; study and entertainment areas; theater room; meeting space for the Tobin Hill Community Association; and 12,000 square feet of leasable space, with Luther’s Restaurant as anchor tenant. The lofts also will have a café with a “continental breakfast” set-up with self-service snacks and drinks, such as Starbucks coffee, chips and granola bars, Cavazos said.

Students from the University of Texas at San Antonio, University of Incarnate Word and Trinity University can rent apartments in Tobin Lofts, she said.

A model of a full-size bed, sofa, dresser, desk and office chair will be available to see Nov. 1 in the leasing office, she said. Leasing office hours are to be determined, Cavazos said.

For more information, call Cavazos at 512-4847316, email at rcavazos@livetobinlofts.com or visit www.facebook.com/tobinlofts.

Ivie Okungbowa contributed to this story.

People

2 • The Ranger

Oct. 22, 2012

www.theranger.org/people

Calendar For coverage in Calendar, call 210-486-1773 or e-mail sac-ranger@alamo.edu two weeks in advance.

Today PAC Event: UTSA Health Bus screenings sponsored by the health information center 9 a.m.-noon in Palomino with preregistration in Room 115 of the student center. $10. Call 210-486-3139.

SAC Event: “Chinese Speech” by Yaping Zhang sponsored by the international students office 11 a.m.-noon in the Fiesta Room of Loftin. Call 210-486-0357.

SAC Meeting: Men’s Bible study 1 p.m.-2 p.m. at the Church of Christ Student Center, 301 W. Dewey. Continues Mondays. Call 210-736-6750.

PAC Event: “A Safe Place for Women: Surviving Domestic Abuse and Creating a Successful Future” by Kelly White sponsored by student engagement and retention 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the auditorium of performing arts. Call 210-486-3125.

SAC Event: Percussion Ensemble sponsored by fine arts at 3 p.m. in the auditorium of McAllister. Call 210-486-0255.

Performance: “Welcome to Arizona Libre” by Jeff Biggers at 7 p.m. in Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, 922 San Pedro. Call 210-288-0201 or visit www.esperanzacenter.org.

Friday

SAC Event: Tryouts for “SAC’s Got Talent Show” Nov. 7 sponsored by student life 2 p.m.-4 p.m. in the Fiesta Room of Loftin. Call 210-486-0128 or visit www. orgsync.com.

Tuesday SAC Event: Oktoberfest sponsored by student life 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. in the mall. Call 210-486-0125.

SAC Event: Information sessions for San Antonio Education Partnership Scholarship at noon in Room 133 of Moody. Call 210-486-0352 or 210-486-0121.

SAC Event: Hot Potato discussion: “Voter Suppression” by Dr. Paul Wilson at 12:15 p.m. at Methodist Student Center, 102 Belknap. Call 210-733-1441 or visit http://www.saumcm.org/San_Antonio_ UMCM/Calendar.html.

OLLU Performance: “Doubt” 7:30 p.m. in Thiry Auditorium. Continues 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2-3 and 2:30 p.m. Nov. 4. $3 for OLLU students, faculty and staff; $5 for seniors and military; and $8 general admission. Call 210-434-6711 ext. 2257.

Saturday UIW Event: “Diabetes in the Hispanic Population — The Basic Scientific Research at UIW” by Dr. Carlos Garcia noon-1 p.m. in the special collections room of Mabee Library. Call 210-282-6334.

SAC Event: Dia De Los Muertos Night Run sponsored by student life at 6 p.m. $15. Call 210-486-0126.

Oct. 29 Deadline: Census date for fall Flex 2.

NLC Event: Forum for candidates for District 25 in the Texas Senate sponsored

by Politics in Action Student Club 12:15 p.m.-1:30 p.m. in Room 201 of student commons. Email kmayfield6@student. alamo.edu or rgrosso@student.alamo.edu.

SAC Meeting: Campus Crusade for Christ now called “Cru” 1:30 p.m. in Room 004 of Chance Academic Center.

Continues Tuesdays.

SAC Event: Personal Safety Workshop sponsored by services for women and nontraditional students 2 p.m.-3 p.m. in the empowerment center. Call 210486-0455.

Philosophy sophomore Terrell Stewart and biology sophomore Yelitza Ramirez vigorously joust during Stress-Out Day Wednesday in the mall. Vincent Reyna

Former KSYM disc jockeys Sam Sauls, Janet Pogue and Ray Wintwork recall their experiences working at college radio station KSYM 90.1 FM in the 1970s during an on-air reunion Oct. 13 in Longwith. Sergio Ramirez

SAC Event: “Imagine Life Without Breast Cancer” by Samantha Huizar, program coordinator for the San Antonio affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, sponsored by student life 1 p.m.-2 p.m. in the Fiesta Room of Loftin. Call 210486-0158.

NLC Event: Halloween edition of “Romeo and Juliet” sponsored by the fine arts department at 7 p.m. in performing arts. Continues at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Oct. 30 and 3 p.m. Oct. 31. Call 210486-5661.

Oct. 30

AC Meeting: Committee meetings for the Alamo Colleges board of trustees 5:30 p.m. in Room 101 of Killen, 200 W. Sheridan. Call 210-485-0030.

SAC Event: Faculty Recital sponsored by the fine arts department 7:30 p.m.– 8:30 p.m. in auditorium of McAllister. Call 210-486-0255.

Trinity Performance: Fall 2012 choral concert sponsored by the music department at 7:30 p.m. in Marguerite Parker Chapel. Email mchea2@trinity.edu.

Oct. 31

Computer programming sophomore Gilbert Alba plays recreational racquetball Monday in Candler. The court is available 1 p.m.-2:15 p.m. Monday and Friday with a student ID and goggles or protective glasses. Riley Stephens

SAC Event: Sweet Treats sponsored by Student Government Association 11 a.m-1 p.m. in the mall. Call 210-486-0133.

Wednesday SAC Event: Employee Development Day 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Classes canceled until 5 p.m. Call 210-486-0756.

SAC Contest: Pumpkin-carving contest sponsored by student life at noon-1:30 p.m. in the craft room of Loftin. Call 210486-0125.

Thursday

Nov. 16

SAC Event: Health Workshop: Prevention and Early Detection of Breast, Cervical and Colorectal Cancer sponsored by services for women and nontraditional students 10 a.m.-11 a.m. in the empowerment center. Call 210-486-0455.

SAC Event: “Alternative to Hunger” sponsored by KYSM 90.1 FM to benefit South Texas Boysville Home for Boys and Girls 6 p.m.-midnight at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 76, 10 10th. Call 210486-1366.

Gay, Ally and Lesbian Association members have a group hug at the end of a meeting Wednesday in the Fiesta Room of Loftin.

GALA meets 3 p.m. Wednesdays in the Fiesta Room. Monica Correa

News

Oct. 22, 2012

The Ranger • 3

www.theranger.org

$20,000 in tickets estimated for semester

By ANGELO THOMAS DIXON Alamo Colleges police officers have given out more tickets this semester at this college than in the last two fall semesters.

Data provided in an Oct. 2 email from Sgt.

police-blotter.

The data also show that Lot 32 at Ogden and Dewey Streets, and the soon-to-be-closed Lot 26 at West Park and North Main avenues, are prime locations for burglary of motor vehicles.

Lot 26 will be closed until construction of

Adams said the towing service for parking violations is Danny’s Road Service, 315 Rivas St. The web address for Danny’s Road Service, www. dannysroadservice.com, accesses the website for Creswell’s Wrecker Service, 114 Brooklyn Ave. Michael Guerrero of Creswell’s Wrecker

Michael Nemcic show that 959 tickets have been issued this semester, up from 767 this time in 2011, and 390 this time in 2010. With the average cost of parking tickets at $21, ticketed students will spend about $20,000 this semester in fines.

The No. 1 violation is failure to display a valid parking permit. The majority of those tickets are given out in the parking garage on West Myrtle Street, but Nemcic was unable to provide the number.

The prime time for parking tickets is between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. The police blotter for this college narrows down the hours to 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The blotter is available to the public on the district website at www.alamo.edu/district/police/

the Tobin Lofts is complete in about a year, Tim Rockey, dean of continuing education training network, said in an interview on Sept. 19.

The district police blotter states eight vehicle burglaries have occurred from Aug. 25 to Oct. 5 on this campus. According to the blotter, three happened in the parking garage, one in Lot 26, three in unspecified parking lots, and one reported at the police station. No vehicles have been towed this semester because of parking violations.

Chief Don Adams said towing or booting takes place for parking violations only in cases of blocking roadways or emergency vehicle access.

Adams said parking violations would be dealt with through holds on a student’s account.

Service told The Ranger that Creswell’s Wrecker Service tows for accidents and breakdowns of vehicles at this college but not for parking violations. If a vehicle is towed for an accident or breakdown, Creswell charges $68.50, but that can vary by mileage and the addition of a $20-aday storage fee, he said.

Guerrero said that if students, faculty or staff are locked out, have a flat tire, or their car batteries are running low on campus, the company provides rescue services at no charge to the motorist. Creswell’s Wrecker Service charges $40 to the college for each assistance, he said.

For these services, call the district police dispatch at 210-485-0099.

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

English sophomore Kyle Haley gets help from her sister May 12 before the commencement at Freeman Coliseum. Riley Stephens

Graduation deadline near

By INGRID WILGEN

icobham@student.alamo.edu

Oct. 31 is the deadline for students to submit applications to graduate in December.

Joe Jacques, assistant director of admissions, said they must be submitted by the deadline regardless of whether a student plans to walk the stage in the May 11 commencement. Jacques said the commencement includes fall, spring and summer graduates.

Students should go to their faculty adviser in the department of their major or field of study for advising.

A graduation package consists of an online application, a degree audit and a separate hard copy application signed by the student and a faculty adviser.

These must be submitted to the admissions and records office in Room 216 of Fletcher Administration Center, along with an academic transcript and a departmental substitution approval form, if needed.

To graduate, a student must have a cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 or higher in all coursework that applies to the degree, have a minimum of 25 percent of completed coursework at this college and be in good academic standing in their final semester.

Students may apply if they have six or fewer credit hours to complete in their degree plan and those hours will be completed the following semester.

Commencement will be at 10 a.m. May 11 at Freeman Coliseum, 3201 E. Houston St. For more information, call 210-4860200 or visit www.alamo.edu/sac/graduation/commence.

Dating game draws crowd

By PAULA CHRISTINE SCHULER sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Five faculty of the American Sign Language and interpreter training department spoofed “The Dating Game” Tuesday in the auditorium of McAllister Fine Arts Center as part of Deaf Awareness Week.

The event, “Miss Manners,” featured Professor Darlene Ballard as the bachelor, and lab technician David Solis, Instructor John Cage, Professor Darin Dobson and Instructor Brian Barwise as crossdressed bachelorettes. The event demonstrated that communication issues are not just between hearing and deaf, but also between deaf individuals.

The audience laughed loudly and frequently, sometimes offering visual applause for the contestants’ answers to dating questions.

The bachelor’s questions included “Who do you hang out with, deaf or hearing people?” “If you take me on a date, where will we go?” and “If we are in a car on a dark night, how will we communicate?” To the last question, the

first bachelorette signed in English that she would turn on the light in the car.

The second one agreed.

Bachelorette No. 3 used American Sign Language to show “she” would plan ahead and design a tactile form of communication much like the blind.

Bachelorette No. 4 exclaimed with spoken word, “Can’t drive and talk at the same time! It’s too dangerous. Are you nuts?”

Another roar of laughter erupted from an understanding audience. Interpreting sophomore Dolores Gomez said, “Oh my God, it’s so much fun!” She said the faculty demonstrated the different communication styles that interpreters and the deaf experience.

The male faculty bachelorettes on stage featured English sign language, simple gestures and writing, American Sign Language and nonsigning oral communication.

Body language, vocabulary and stereotypical commentary accented communication challenges for various dating situations and social

Audience members offer visual applause at the American Sign Language and interpreter training’s spoof “The Dating Game” Tuesday. Paula Christine Schuler decision-making.

Both audience and contestants needed interpreters because styles did not mesh, even for deaf-withdeaf communication. Different spoken voices interpreted different signers to give hearing individuals a feel for the conversation, including tone.

Occasionally, contestants ran into problems understanding each other when bickering or commenting on each other’s answers to

questions from the bachelor.

The annual Miss Manners event ended with fans packing the foyer wanting a photo with the participants.

It was clear no matter which language was being used in the crowd, the faces, laughter and energy communicated excitement and appreciation for the event.

For more information, visit www.alamo.edu/sac/asl.

New insight on TRS rule

Cyber users: Take responsibility, be secure

By REBECCA SALINAS

By PATRICIA MCGLAMORY

rsalinas191@student.alamo.edu

Alamo Colleges received information from the Teacher Retirement System of Texas of a rule that limits adjunct teaching in September 2011.

Linda Boyer-Owens, associate vice chancellor of human resources and organizational development, said the district received the information in a technical manual on how to administer benefits.

The rule is just now being implemented because the district and legal counsel had to research it, she said.

The rule states adjuncts teaching 7.5 or more semester hours will have to contribute 6.4 percent of their salary to TRS. The district would also have to match the contribution.

Boyer-Owens said the two questions for district officials are whether the district needs to implement the rule and how the district would implement the rule.

The legal counsel advised the dis-

trict to implement the rule. She said the district will do so in the spring semester.

Boyer-Owens said there were no guidelines on when the rule needed to be implemented, and officials are looking into how to implement it.

“People assume we’re going to cancel adjunct workload. That’s one way to deal with it, but that’s not the only way to deal with it,” she said.

President Robert Zeigler sent an email Sept. 27 saying the three implementing options are to hire more adjuncts, keep adjuncts teaching 7.5 or more hours or cancel classes.

Boyer-Owens said there are no plans to cancel classes because of a lack of adjuncts.

“We’re not going to take actions that will be harmful to students or their education,” she said.

She said it will come down to the district contributing 6.4 percent or workloads will be adjusted.

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Technology brings a lot of benefits, but if users don’t follow good security practices their computers can become infected with viruses or spam, Usha Venkat, director of information and communication technologies, said.

“It is very important that every person takes that as their own responsibility to maintain their computer,” Venkat said.

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. The office of technology services and computer information systems program will sponsor security awareness events on campus this week.

Events include speeches by guest lecturers Carlos Cardenas, associate director of the Institute for Cyber Security

at the University of Texas at San Antonio; Michele Ayers, manager of educational services at Copyright Clearance Center; and Arne Saustrup, senior manager of network and operations for Alamo Colleges.

Students from the information technology and security academy of this college will participate in a panel on cyber security information 11 a.m.-noon Thursday in the Fiesta Room of Loftin Student Center.

Students are invited to participate in the information security awareness poster design contest.

Computer viruses are the most common information technology security issue for which students and faculty ask OTS for help.

Free solutions abound to keep Windows updated and to install anti-virus programs, Venkat said.

Physical security of computers and devices is also an issue.

These devices not only hold personal information, but also sensitive data that may relate to their workplace or school.

For better computer and data security, the OTS recommends: • Never share your user password with others.

• This college or other entities will never request a username, password or other personal information by email. Do not respond to such requests.

• Secure computer equipment, including laptops, media tablets and smart phones, in a safe environment.

• Use a secure network connection wherever possible when accessing data.

For more information and event details, visit http://www. alamo.edu/sac/security.

4 • The Ranger

News

Oct. 22, 2012

www.theranger.org

eClips for students by students Communication design sophomore designed video tutorials as a supplemental learning resource.

By PATRICIA MCGLAMORY sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Students who need information on using the Canvas learning management system, information on parking permits, accessing financial aid or getting online advising can access eClips on the college website. eClips are one- to five-minute video tutorials designed as a supplemental learning resource and are a product of the office of technology services.

To create these video tutorials, the office of technology services partnered with communication design students and a member of the college speech team.

“We wanted to also tap some of the strengths of our very own students to bring this whole project together,” Usha Venkat, director of information and communication technologies, said Sept. 18.

Developed by Nick Lucio, communication design sophomore, initial eClips tutorials focus on information technology services.

The first roll-out of eClips took place in June 2011.

Lucio began by working on 19 older eClips to update them for a more modern interface.

Since then, he has developed a total of 38 eClips video tutorials.

Lucio is a part-time employee of the office of technology services, Venkat confirmed in an email Oct. 3.

“Continuance of his position will depend on the budget availability. However, our goal is to increase the number of training offerings through video delivery, and his position is critical to achieving the goal,” Venkat wrote.

From 1999 to 2002, Lucio worked for NewTek, a local software company that specializes in animation hardware and technology for Hollywood, Lucio said.

“I really cut my teeth on computer graphics with those guys,” Lucio said.

He worked in graphics for News 9 San Antonio from 2003 to 2004, and television station KENS 5 from 2005 to 2006.

News 9 San Antonio is no longer on the air.

He attended this college in 2003 and returned to continue his education in fall 2011. Lucio also attends a figure drawing class at Coppini Academy of Fine Arts.

Upon graduation from this college with degrees in communication design and traditional illustration, he plans to continue his education at California Institute of the Arts, Savannah College of Art and Design or the Vancouver Film School.

For the eClips on-camera narration, Lucio contacted the speech communication program of this college for “talent.”

Rebecca Henry, speech communication sophomore, narrates about 10 eClips tutorials.

Henry has been competing with the speech team since last fall.

She thinks the information in eClips will be appreciated by students.

“Especially the ones that need a little more help online that aren’t used to the whole online format ... the fact that it (eClips) is there to kind of break it down for you.”

Venkat said the idea of video tutorials stemmed from two challenges: shortage of staff and the availability of students’ time.

“One of the challenges we have at San Antonio College is that we don’t have enough staff for the amount of training that needs to occur,” Venkat said.

With those challenges in mind, the OTS looked at what other universities and colleges are using, Venkat said.

Online research led to short videos called Hot Topics at the University of Indiana.

“What really attracted me to that was the fact that each video was just one- to two minutes in length, and it was based on topics,” Venkat said. eClips is about convenience.

“It is about where our faculty, staff and students can access this information anyplace, anytime,” Venkat said.

Other Alamo Colleges do not use eClips, Venkat said.

“It is a service of San Antonio College,” Venkat said. “We are

www.alamo.edu/sac/ots. willing to share with the other colleges ... definitely open to sharing, because all the colleges are from a single system.”

Venkat said other departments of this college, such as the continuing education training network and the business office, became interested in this product to demonstrate their services.

Existing technology is used for eClips.

“We didn’t have to go out and spend more money on other things,” Venkat said.

Mediasite is the districtwide streaming system, and Digital Signage is the system that allows the use of televisions across campus as a delivery medium.

OTS has run eClips on the Digital Signage system.

Venkat said, however, since the TVs are within the public area, audio volume has been an issue.

“Currently they (eClips) are not being run on the digital signage TV. We will look into other options, such as closed captioning, to alleviate the situation in the future,” Venkat wrote in an Oct. 3 email.

The OTS plans to start tracking user hits for eClips this semester.

They also plan to do a survey from both students and faculty to get feedback. eClips can be accessed through the OTS quick link on the website for this college or by going to www.alamo.edu/sac/ots.

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Oct. 22, 2012

News

The Ranger • 5

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Koehler greenhouse: then and now Multiple repair projects have been deferred because of lack of funding.

By CRISTINA CARREON

of lack of funding.

John Strybos, associate vice chancellor of faciliThe Otto Koehler estate at 310 W. Ashby Place was ties operation and construction management, said the donated to this college in 1973. greenhouse is a deferred project and there are no plans To the west of the house known today as Koehler for it.

Cultural Center is a greenhouse, a beautiful architec“With the building permit, renovations, and safety tural structure, even in ruination. hazard inspections, a ballpark estimate for the cost Today, the structure has multiple broken panes, the would be approximately $100,000,” Strybos said. “The glass is cloudy from weather and time but there are two greenhouse has health hazards like asbestos contamitrees visible from outside. nation and lead-laced paint.”

“The house was completed in Kreusel said the wood on the “Donations can 1902,” said Louis Kreusel, a project structure is rotted and needs to be be made to San manager on the team working on replaced.

Antonio College or the Koehler greenhouse’s design.

“The original frame of the structhe Alamo Colleges The eclectic Victorian house was ture was a ‘T’ or ‘L’ shape,” Strybos Foundation as constructed on a one-block site on said. “Today it is a straight structure. the hill at Belknap and Ashby Places Not all materials used on the greena restricted gift by 19th century architect Carl Von house are over 100 years old.” toward greenhouse Seutter.

“The greenhouse is a historic renovation.”

Von Seutter constructed the structure that cannot be renovatJohn Strybos, house to give Otto Koehler a view ed without approval by the city’s associate vice of his own factory, the City Brewery, design review board,” Strybos said. chancellor of later renamed Pearl Brewery, “The project has been deferred for facilities operation according to the Pearl Brewery webyears because of budget constraints, and construction site. and would need approval of the management According to Koehler property’s Alamo Colleges and the Monte Vista website, for more than 40 years, the Historical Association to be renohouse has been maintained by the college and is now a vated.” cultural center, used for college receptions and meetThe Environmental Protection Agency and the ings or rented for weddings and other gatherings.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration would The carriage house of the Koehler estate is used by need to approve construction because of the health the college’s art students for ceramics. hazards. Strybos said, “Donations can be made to San The Ranger reported in fall 2009 that the college’s Antonio College or the Alamo Colleges Foundation as a biology department was considering the Koehler greenrestricted gift toward greenhouse renovation.” house as extra lab space.

To view the Koehler Cultural Center’s history page, In 2011, The Ranger reported that St. Philip’s College visit www.alamo.edu/mainwide.aspx?id=5193. was considering repairing the greenhouse as a student For information on Pearl Brewery history, visit construction project, but both projects failed because http://atpearl.com/about/history/. sac-ranger@alamo.edu

The greenhouse on the west side of the grounds of the Koehler Cultural Center, 310 W. Ashby Riley Stephens

Center provides free parenting workshops

By LUCIA ESPINO

guardians want children to know.

Gillespie recommended using drawings and Free workshops are available for any parent colors they are familiar with and can be easily or legal guarding planning to enroll their child remembered. at the college’s early childhood center.

A mind map is a diagram with words or picThose interested must attend three worktures surrounding one central idea. It is used to shops every semester, Claudia Gonzalez, early resemble how the brain works. childhood center coordinator, said.

Gillespie quoted author Stephen Covey’s The early childhood studies department will “Begin With the End in Mind” to ask parents sponsor four parenting workto think about what kind of shops, presented by Precious adult they want their child “You guys Minds New Connections this to be. can’t be the best semester.

Parents said they want parents you all can This program creates a their children to be educated, be if you don’t take fun and creative environment confident, honest, respectful, care of you first.” to help parents navigate the goal-oriented, and optimistic, Patti Lozano, experience of parenting and among other characteristics director of aims to teach parents how to when they are adults.

Precious Minds help their children reach their Gillespie said the No. 1 full potential. reason children continue New Connections Workshops have been their education is parent funded by Kronkosky involvement and they learn Charitable Foundation for seven years at no by example so parents have to practice what cost to the department. they preach.

Subjects include “Emotional Development” Patti Lozano, director of Precious Minds Oct. 30 and Nov. 9, and “Brain Development” New Connections, emphasized the importance Nov. 16 and 27. of parents taking care of themselves as much as The last day to make up any workshops they do for their child. is Dec. 5. Workshops are 2 p.m.-4 p.m. in Parents have to remember that simple Room 120 of the visual arts center. “Nurturing things like taking a shower and having a good Families” was the topic for the first parenting meal, enough sleep and even a night out can workshop on Sept. 25. help release the stress of everyday life.

Assistant facilitator Kelly Gillespie explained “The times that I regret how I talked or the principles of nurturing families by using yelled at my kids were the times when I wasn’t a mind map. She said there are attachment, taking care of myself,” Lozano said. “You guys empathy, nurturing yourself, gentle touch, discan’t be the best parents you all can be if you cipline, expressing feelings, expectations and don’t take care of you first.” self-worth.

Lozano also explained showing empathy to A mind map is great way to keep children a child tells them the parent understands what focused on what needs to be done or things they are going through, and helps the parent sac-ranger@alamo.edu

understand why the child behaves a certain way.

“Think for a moment that you are as frustrating to them as they can be to you some times,” Lozano said. “Stepping into the shoes of that child will really help you (parent) understand them better.”

One reason parents need to learn how to express feelings to their child is that it builds trust from child to parent, Lozano said.

Another reason is when parents keep all their bad or sad feelings inside, they usually come out during stressful times with words and expressions that they might regret, Lozano added.

Parents need to have expectations for their child. If parents have no or low expectations, the child will meet those and not reach their full potential, she said.

High expectations can also be harmful if children fail to meet them because it will affect the child’s self-worth, she said.

Having the appropriate expectations for each child according to their learning, mental and physical abilities is important in the development of a child’s self-worth, she said.

At the end of the workshop, Lozano asked the parents to have a family meeting and listen to what their children have to say.

“Letting them speak does not mean they get to do whatever they want, but it helps them with expressing their feelings and trusting the parents,” she said.

As a homework assignment, parents were encouraged to do one thing for themselves during the week. Lozano said nurtured parents and children equals nurtured families.

To qualify for the services, student parents must: • Be enrolled for at least six hours in the fall or spring.

• Be eligible to receive state needs-based funds, such as the Pell Grant, SEOG, TANF, Lone Star card, WIC or Medicaid.

• Be in good academic standing at the conclusion of the current semester or a minimum 2.0 GPA. • Submit with the application a copy of the most current income tax return.

The early childhood center offers two grants, the Carl Perkins Dependent Care Services and the Child Care Access Means Parents in School.

The DCS grant is only for professional and technical majors and reduces the cost for childcare to $35 a week per child for 16 weeks.

The CCAMPIS grant is a sliding scale tuition slot and the parent is responsible for paying $25 or $35 a week per child for 16 weeks, depending on the parent’s income.

Gonzalez said students need to apply as soon as they register for classes and have all required documents.

The center only admits children ages 1 to 4 years old, with a capacity of 60 children per semester.

Gonzalez said the waiting list can be up to 30 children. During fall to spring admissions, returning students will have priority, but all students must reapply every fall for child care services.

The center is accredited by the National Association of the Education of Young Children.

NAEYC-accredited centers must promote positive relationships, effective teaching approaches, promote good nutrition and health, and provide a safe physical environment and highquality experiences.

For information on the workshops, call 210804-0927. For information about the application process, call 210-486-0500 or visit the early childhood center at 210 W. Ashby.

News

6 • The Ranger

Oct. 22, 2012

www.theranger.org/news

Chalk It Up takes over Houston Street

By EDGAR GARCIA

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Red, blue, white, green, yellow, purple, and almost every other color of chalk covered Houston Street Oct. 13 at Chalk It Up, an annual event to celebrate art.

Messages and arrows in chalk lined the sidewalks from the entrance of the Artpace building to the event on Houston Street.

Red balloons were placed on trees on Houston Street to celebrate the ninth annual Chalk It Up event.

The first giant mural by the entrance was a huge purple, black, and white drawing, which stated, “The Walking Dead – Season 3 – Sun., Oct 14.”

People were forming a line to take a picture with the zombie mural, which was created by a fan of the television series on AMC; the artist did not sign his or her name.

Children and adults smiled and took photos along Houston Street, and volunteers in red shirts passed out red Artpace stickers to individuals. The organization used this as a way to count attendance.

“It is my first time (to volunteer) and apparently it’s a total success,” volunteer Monica Allen said.

Big plastic containers were placed in the middle of the street, inviting anyone to walk up and grab a chalk to express or share ideas.

Popular super heroes such as Batman and Spider Man were drawn, as well as murals that reminded people that voting is important.

Cartoon characters, Finn and Jake from Adventure Time, were drawn by different people in different parts of the street.

Historic people such as painter Frida Kahlo, were drawn along the sidewalk by an unknown artist.

Another mural contained a message that reminded people to take care of planet Earth.

Shelly Bosse, manager and site coordinator, represented the Communities in Schools organization, and also shared her passion with thousands of people by drawing a colorful mural that represented the importance of keeping kids in schools. ”Our mission is to prevent students from dropping out,” Bosse said.

Furthermore, Bosse explained that their mural included the logo of her group, which is the shape of a student and a graduation hat.

“We focus on 70 schools of nine schools districts here in San Antonio … we encourage and help students to graduate from high school by tutoring, taking them to field tips, and overall just keeping them engaged,” Bosse said.

Raspas, hamburgers, tacos, and many more food stands were sold along the side walk on Houston Street.

Students from Saint Mary’s Hall upper class collaborate by painting their own ideas for a mural on Oct. 13 at Chalk It Up along Houston Street downtown. Gloria Fernandez De Clements “This is my first year attending Chalk It Up. It is exiting and the food is very good,” nursing sophomore Jennifer Guzman said.

Casa Salazar, established 14 years ago on 216 E. Houston St., said their Mexican art sales increase every year that Artpace celebrates Chalk It Up. “This event is great because it motivates young people to express their ideas and share their creative side,” employee Berta Valdez said.

Drag Bingo ignites laughter

By NICOLE WEST

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

In honor of Ally Week and to wrap up Coming Out Week, drag performers Autumn Summers and Eryca Daniels hosted a jokefilled bingo game Wednesday for the third year at this college, in the Fiesta Room of Loftin Student Center.

The Gay Ally Lesbian Association sponsored Drag Bingo.

Ally Week is to celebrate straight friends who support and to spread equality.

“You don’t have to be gay to say hey,” said GALA President Rene Orozco, advertising and public relations sophomore.

Between every number called, Summers and Daniels told jokes, which drew laughter and applause throughout the event. After a bingo game, Summers and Daniels invited students to the stage to share their coming out story with the audience.

Nursing freshman Alec Castillo came to the stage and said, “I came out on National Transgender Day, I’m female–male.” He brought his parents to a transgender seminar where he came out to his parents.

“Supposedly, they handled it well,” Castillo said. The audience applauded as Castillo

walked off the stage.

Along with coming-out stories, contests, and jokes in between bingo rounds, drag queen performances also took place.

Performer Odyssey Nicole Whitney entered the stage in a sparkling gold sequinned outfit and received tips from audience members as she performed.

She came out a second time and performed Berry White’s song, “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe.”

Performer Arianna D. Spanic walked through the black drapes onto the stage wearing a white dress performing to a remix of Evanescense’s hit, “Wake Me Up Inside.”

The audience whistled as she pranced out of the drapes a second time during the song wearing a black and turquoise leotard and walked up to students in the audience.

Many drag performers choose not to use their real name but make up their own stage names.

Odyssey Nicole Whitney explained she came up with her stage name while she was at South Beach Night Club in Houston. She was going through a magazine she found and saw a story on Homer’s, “The Odyssey” and stuck with it, she said.

Colorful bracelets that read, “SAC is coming out for equality” were given away to bingo winners as well as to audience members.

Other prizes included SAC pride shirts as well as “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” posters signed by Sharon Needles, the winner of RuPaul’s “Drag Race” in Season 4.

Needles will perform in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” as the main character, Frank N. Furter at Woodlawn Theater through Oct. 27.

Showtimes are 8 p.m. on Thursday and 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

The final prize awarded were two balcony seat tickets to that show. Electrical engineering sophomore Daniel Rivera won the tickets after dancing to the “Oscar Mayer Weiner” song, hopping on one foot, clapping his hands and spinning in circles during a game of Simon Says.

“I’m an Ally. The reason why I joined GALA is because I believe in equality. I used to be in the military and the reason why I joined was so everyone can live in a country and live the way they want to live,” Rivera said. “No matter what you believe in, keep on going and do great things.”

For more information on GALA, call 210201-4252.

Drag Bingo host Autumn Summer holds a microphone for liberal arts sophomore Arika Escamilla to imitate a horse’s sound during an orgasm as part of drag queen bingo Wednesday in the Fiesta Room of Loftin. The event was sponsored by Gay Ally Lesbian Alliance.

Riley Stephens

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7 • The Ranger

www.theranger.org/premiere

Artist converts life experiences to art

By NICOLE WEST

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, visual artist Vincent Valdez described his journey to becoming an artist Oct. 8 in the Writer’s Block in Gonzales Hall.

Valdez graduated from Burbank High School in San Antonio, and in 2000, he received a bachelor of fine arts degree from Rhode Island School of Design.

Valdez began showed his childhood drawings to the students, including Superman and “The Ugly Duckling.”

“I first started drawing at the age of 3. It came so natural to me, I assumed everyone can draw like me,” he said.

Valdez recalls visiting his grandparent’s house, where he remembers it as a little museum because of his great grandfather’s paintings hanging on the hallway walls.

“I remember sitting in the dark hallway staring at the paintings, deciding this is what I want to do,” Valdez said.

As a child, he heard stories about his grandfather’s and his father’s time in the military. His father, Authur Valdez, was drafted in the military while he was a student at this college studying radio-television-film in 1970 and served in the military from 1969-1972, Valdez said.

Visual artist Vincent Valdez speaks to English Professor Juanita Luna-Lawhn’s class Oct. 8. His most recent work will be on display until Jan. 27 at the McNay Art Museum, 6000 N. New Braunfels. Nicole West The war stories that Valdez heard throughout his life inspired his art.

At age 10, Valdez started painting murals on the West Side of San Antonio with his friend Alex Rubio. As Valdez got older, he saw an increase of technical capabilities in his work, Valdez said.

“For me, it was like anything else, like riding a bike or playing basketball. The more and more I practiced, the more and more I saw an increase of skills,” Valdez said. “I had this strength from that same subject, the ultimate immortal, the ultimate superman.”

Valdez described a defining experience: “When I saw the movie ‘Platoon,’ it really made a huge impact on me, not for the sake of the violence or action. I was sort of a witness of the audience. I looked around the audience in the theater and saw how the movie theater was in absolute silence. I saw how some people were in shock. I guess you can define that moment because that’s it, that’s what I want to do. I want to be able to move an audience through pictures. I saw that the possibilities were endless.”

Valdez said he enjoys looking at photographs by documentary photographers because they are cinematic.

Valdez also got his inspiration from his grandfather’s boxing career.

“I tend to think of heroes as glorious, masculine, vulnerable individuals,” Valdez said.

Valdez has won numerous recognitions for his art and films including a 2008 U.S. Artist Grant Nominee and a 2002 Best of Show Award from Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin.

Valdez has had solo exhibitions in museums in Texas, Florida and California and other parts of the country. His most recent work titled, “America’s Finest,” is showcased at the McNay Art Museum, 6000 N. New Braunfels, until Jan. 27.

For more information on Valdez, visit his website at www.vincentvaldezofficialsite.com.

Lecture: Talking with the dead on the verge of possible

By PAULA CHRISTINE SCHULER sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Talking with the dead usually brings to mind images of people sitting around a table holding hands while a mediator facilitates the connection. Media images of immortality include angels, demons, zombies, Greek gods, vampires, holograms and the character Data in “Star Trek.”

Apparently, “Star Trek” got some scientists thinking because there are places in the research world where people are working on how to transplant brains into avatars and create software able to download the entire memory of a person at death.

Google the web and images for artificial intelligence and immor-

tality. It’s there.

The Witte Museum, 3801 Broadway, is sponsoring the Louis A. and Frances B. Wagner Lecture “Emails from the Dead and Burials in Space” 6:30-8:30 p.m. Nov. 7. An after-hours tour is available for the “Mummies of the World: The Exhibition” 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

The lecture series is funded by an $800,000 donation from the Wagner estate.

The lecturer is Trinity sociology Professor Michael C. Kearl. He will share a fun, insightful lecture on people’s efforts to be remembered and emerging research aimed toward memorials, life-extension and “scientific resurrection.”

On Trinity’s profile of Kearl, he said, “I believe that the processes

of inquiry should be enjoyable interactive experiences, even if my subject matters are not always the most upbeat of topics.” Trinity’s website also reports the public relations department sends reporters to Kearl when journalists seek expertise on social trends or new ways of looking at popular culture.

Trinity reports the public seeks Kearl’s expertise on many diverse topics including Halloween costumes, dissolution of civility, midlife orphans and celebrity death pools.

The lecture is free, but the standard admission fee is required for the exhibit: Active duty military $9, Seniors $9 (65 and older), adults $10, children $7 and children under 3 are free.

For more information, call 210-357-1900.

Trick or treat food drive continues until Halloween

By KIRK HANES

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

The Catholic Student Association is sponsoring “Trick or Treat So Others Can Eat,” a food drive that will culminate on Halloween with members in costume collecting donations from decorated boxes in campus buildings.

Campus minister Joseph Liedecke of the Catholic Student Center said the center has placed collection boxes decorated with a Halloween theme at various locations on campus.

Boxes are in Longwith Radio, Television and Film Building, the early childhood studies building, the American Sign Language and interpreter training department in Room 118 of Nail Technical Center, the president’s suite in Room 323 of Fletcher Administration

Center and the media communications department in The Ranger newsroom in Room 212 of Loftin Student Center.

“Trick or Treat So Others Can Eat” has been going on since 2006 and is a part of Catholic social teaching, which has seven themes, he said.

He said this project is related to life and dignity of the human person and option for the poor and vulnerable.

At 12:15 p.m. Oct. 31, members of the association will don Halloween costumes and retrieve the boxes.

They will take the donations to the food pantry operated by the Beta Nu chapter of Phi Theta Kappa.

The food pantry at 602 W. French is open from noon3 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday.

Richard Arredondo, coor-

dinator of communication design, said the food drive “will fulfill the mission of the Gospel to feed the needy.”

Arredondo said clubs at this campus had initiatives this semester to increase charity work.

He said faculty, staff and students are encouraged to bring food to support the food drive with nonperishable goods, including canned food, pasta, beans, rice and cereal.

Arredondo said it was important to bring a donation for something that will last a long time.

For information about the Catholic Student Center, call Liedecke at 210-7369306 or visit https://orgsync. com/30743/chapter or www. archsa.org.

For information on the food pantry, call 210-486-0431.

Music faculty Cindy Sanchez and Peter Kline perform at the annual Halloween concert Oct. 29, 2009. File

Faculty to perform for scholarship fundraiser

By EDGAR GARCIA

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Two programs in the fine arts department will join forces Thursday to present “Twilight Tones,” a Halloween concert in which faculty perform for the public to raise money for scholarships. The music and theater programs will stage the performance at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of McAllister Fine Arts Center.

“There will be four scholarship recipients that night who are music majors,” academic unit assistant Rosie Carreon said Oct 17.

In previous years, many audience members came in costume.

Tickets will be sold at the door, but students also can purchase tickets 7 a.m.–4 p.m. in Room 105 of McAllister.

Tickets are $7 general admission, $5 for students with a college ID, and children 12 and under are free.

Funds raised will go toward scholarships for music students.

For more information, contact the fine arts department at 210-486-0255.

Editorial

8 • The Ranger

Oct. 22, 2012

www.theranger.org/opinion

Editor Alma Linda Manzanares Managing Editor Rebecca Salinas Calendar Editor Jennifer Coronado Photo Editor Riley Stephens Photographers Monica Correa, Vincent Reyna Photo Team Gloria Fernandez De Clements Jovan Ibarra, Sergio Ramirez, Samber Saenz, David Torres, Carolina Vela Multimedia Editor Ingrid Wilgen Illustrator Juan Carlos Campos Production Manager Mandy Derfler Production Assistant Jason Hogan Staff Writers Cristina Carreon, Jennifer Charo Angelo Thomas Dixon, Chelsea Driskell Lucia Espino, David Espinoza, Carlos Ferrand Edgar Garcia, Kirk Hanes, Jennifer Luna, Beau McCarter, Patricia McGlamory Adam Meza, Ivie Okungbowa, Osita Omesiete Diana Palomo, Felipe Perez Jr. Janeka Porter, Christina Quintanilla, Amanda Rios Paula Christine Schuler, Nicole West Web Editor Faith Duarte Circulation Dawn Mayen ©2012 by The Ranger staff, San Antonio College, 1300 San Pedro Ave., San Antonio, TX 78212-4299.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.

The Ranger news outlets, which serve the Alamo Community College District, are laboratory projects of journalism classes in the Department of Media Communications at San Antonio College. The Ranger is published Mondays except during summer, holidays and examinations.

The Ranger Online is available at www.theranger.org.

News contributions accepted by telephone (210-486-1773), by fax (210-486-9292), by email (sac-ranger@alamo.edu) or at the editorial office (Room 212 of Loftin Student Center).

Advertising rates available upon request by phone (210-486-1765) or as a download at www.theranger.org.

The Ranger is a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association, the Associated Collegiate Press and the Texas Community College Journalism Association.

Guest Viewpoints:

Faculty, staff, students and community members are welcome to contribute guest viewpoints of up to 450 words.

Writers should focus on campus or current events in a critical, persuasive or interpretative style.

All viewpoints must be published with a photo portrait of the writer.

Letters Policy:

The Ranger invites readers to share views by writing letters to the editor. Space limitations force the paper to limit letters to two double-spaced, typewritten pages.

Letters will be edited for spelling, style, grammar, libel and length.

Editors reserve the right to deny publication of any letter.

Letters should be mailed to The Ranger, Department of Media Communications, San Antonio College, 1300 San Pedro Ave., San Antonio TX 78212-4299.

Letters also may be brought to the newspaper office in Room 212 of Loftin Student Center, emailed to sac-ranger@alamo.edu or faxed to 210-486-9292.

Letters must be signed and must include the printed name and telephone number. Students should include classification, major, campus and Banner ID. Employees should include title and telephone number. For more information, call 210-486-1773.

Single Copy Policy:

Members of the Alamo Community College District community are permitted one free copy per issue because of high production costs.

Where available, additional copies may be purchased with prior approval for 50 cents each by contacting The Ranger business office.

Newspaper theft is a crime. Those who violate the single- copy rule may be subject to civil and criminal prosecution and subject to college discipline.

Juan Carlos Campos

Don’t withhold information It’s been about three weeks, and information still has not been released to the public about a verbal altercation involving four to 15 students Sept. 26 on the first floor of Oppenheimer Academic Center.

Dr. Robert Vela, vice president of student affairs and interim vice president of academic affairs, said that two students have been given “interim disciplinary action.”

Vela said more individuals could receive disciplinary action pending the outcome of the investigation that was expected to take a week.

A statement released Sept. 27 by President Robert Zeigler to students and employees by email was just as vague.

College officials and the Alamo Colleges Police Department are not serving the public by keeping quiet.

Vela said he has not received a police report and is waiting for the department of public safety to finish its investigation.

Since the news on the altercation was printed online the day of the incident and in the Oct. 1 print edition of The Ranger, a letter to the editor, news tips submitted online and phone calls to the newsroom have been received from readers wanting to

know more.

Some are curious, some are worried and at least one wonders if an incident occurred at all.

Questions abound because officials haven’t given any answers.

Thousands of students attend classes, work in labs and visit faculty offices in Oppenheimer everyday.

Should the public be worried?

Are there areas of the building that are not safe?

The incident was considered serious enough for an estimated 10 police officers, including Chief Don Adams, as well as Vela and Manuel Flores, student conduct officer, to respond.

Officials began the investigation at the scene when they separated participants or presumed participants for questioning.

College officials have a responsibility to the public to be forthcoming about this incident and its aftermath.

The public deserves to know exactly what happened and what is being done about it.

If officials over-reacted and there’s nothing to follow up on, then that should be reported, too.

Midterm wake-up call The deadline for instructors to submit midterm grades in ACES is Wednesday.

This fall is the first semester in recent years that instructors are required to submit grades at the half-way point in the semester.

This is the time of the semester when some students’ grades are in limbo and some students are unsure about dropping a class.

For some, this may be the signal to step up their game before the Nov. 20 drop date or final exams in December.

If you think you’re not performing as well as you should, talk with your instructor.

Some instructors may be cautious about approaching students in danger of failing unless the student initiates the conversation.

There are a few things students can do before resorting to dropping a class.

Make sure you turn in all of your assignments and complete them to the best of your ability.

If you need help doing an assignment, ask for it.

Ask instructors if there is any extra work to complete.

Participate in lecture and discussion during class.

Most of all, don’t skip class. It’s too easy to get behind and you’ll miss information.

Meet regularly with a study group outside of class.

Oftentimes, if you don’t understand a concept, a classmate may give you an explanation that helps you understand better than the instructor could explain it.

Take the initiative to improve your grades, and don’t expect your professor to tell you you’re falling behind.

The hand holding from teachers stopped once you graduated high school.

To view your grades, click on the “Students,” tab, click “Web Services,” then “Student and Financial Aid,” “Student Records” and finally “Midterm Grades.”

Ultimately, it may mean the difference between passing and failing.

Finish the classes in which you’ve invested time and money.

It’s up to you to determine how successful you will be.

Opinion

Oct. 22, 2012

The Ranger • 9

www.theranger.org

Look up in the sky!

An open letter to my ‘abuela’ How I miss you. You passed away when I was about 2 years of age. From time to time, I have this recurring dream.

I am a toddler taking a nap during the midsummer’s day.

I feel the fan breeze and I can Guest hear you cooking in the kitchViewpoint en. I can hear my cousins playby AMANDA ing outside.

JIMENEZ In this dream, I feel very happy and safe, knowing that you are here. Even though I was very young when you passed, I still remember your warm voice and presence.

When I see your face, I see the face of my lovely mother and her sisters. Like them, you had a warm smile and motherly love. You would be so proud of your daughter.

I am very blessed and thankful to call her my mother. Her guidance has taught me how to become and grow into the happy young woman that I am. I wish you could have been here to see me graduate from high school and been there when I first fell in love.

I am now 25 years of age and am experiencing what it feels like to be an independent, single, Mexican-American young woman. I sometimes look back and think about how life was for you in your early to late 20s.

You could not exhibit the independence and freedom young women have today. You really are from a different era; there is so much opportunity to express and live our lives the way that we want to. I tell you this because I wish you could have lived in my shoes.

I have known you all my life, through family photos, memories and stories. I know that you were a very strong woman, an amazing wife and a great mother.

I know you were an inspiration to me. I know that you were a very young wife and a very young mother, which was very traditional in those days.

I put myself in your shoes and can’t even imagine doing that. It takes a really strong woman to raise 12 kids and take care of her husband.

I sometimes wish you could have had more life experiences as a woman.

I have been on my own since I was 20 years old. I have had the experiences to go away from college and live away from home. I have fallen in love more than once. I have had the opportunity to travel. It saddens me that you did not have that.

Though I am not married yet, I have an incredible man in my life. He has a beautiful soul and an incredible heart.

It is so freeing to live in a world where you have the choice to choose who to love rather than be made to love someone because of what is expected of you.

You were born in a different country: This innocent country set you down in a ghetto which, in fact, extolled the rule that you only follow tradition and have no voice. You were born and faced the future you faced because you were a woman.

There was no money for college and none for travel.

You learned at a very early age what real labor was. I am very thankful for the hard work you and my grandfather did to bring our family out of Mexico and into the United States. You worked very hard taking care of the family, but did you ever have a chance to worry about yourself? What I would give for you to live in my shoes.

I am focused on achieving an amazing career and doing what is suitable for me. I know one day I will marry and raise a family of my own. Until then, I am just finding my way through this world, living vicariously through you, counting my blessings and living the best my life has to offer.

Until we meet again, my dear grandmother. I hope you are looking down from heaven with a happy heart and a proud smile. How I miss and love you so.

Amanda Jimenez is a public relations freshman.

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s me!

Viewpoint

by CARLOS FERRAND sac-ranger@ alamo.edu

As Halloween approaches, I always think back to my childhood Octobers. I can still remember all the candy and haunted houses and the spooky decorations hanging in the hallways of my school and in every window on the block.

But most of all, I remember the costumes. There was the vampire with his pale white face and little droplets of blood painted down his chin and the princess in pink with her plastic tiara and fake jewels.

Depending on the weather, she either wore clear jellies or bright yellow rain boots with her

royal attire.

Of all those fantastic costumes, both wicked and cute, my favorites were Batman and Superman.

Most kids used their costumes to scare the neighbors into giving them candy. Other kids used them to trick the candy right out of the neighbors’ hands.

I, on the other hand, didn’t wear my costume as a disguise at all. I wore it like a uniform for a job I really wanted.

If you asked me back then what I waned to be when I grew up, I would say, “Batman” or “Superman.”

When I was a kid, becoming Batman or Superman was a real career choice.

Halloween was the best time to try out my future wardrobe without being judged by grown-ups.

Now, sad to say I am the grown-up. I have a job and rent.

My Batmobile is a Ford Focus that seats two comfortably, four not so much.

In the past few years, my childhood dreams have drifted into cloudy memory.

As a college freshman here, I look back at those nights with a sense

Juan Carlos Campos of optimism.

My two areas of focus are journalism and criminal justice.

When I finish college, I would like to write for The New York Times or perhaps be a detective in the NYPD. Now, Halloween reminds me that all is not lost. My dreams haven’t truly changed so much.

After all, Superman spent his days reporting for the Daily Planet, and Batman was known as the world’s greatest detective.

Looking back, it was silly to believe I could become Batman or Superman.

The world doesn’t need another Bruce Wayne or Clark Kent.

But perhaps, it needs a Carlos Ferrand, a superhero whose gadgets these days are a notepad and a pencil, my cape a backpack and my mask a Yankee cap.

What was your favorite costume or uniform? Who did you want to grow up to be? You might be getting closer than you think.

‘Fresh start’ after hurricane In 2005, I was 14 years old, looking forward to my freshman year of high school.

I was excited beyond what words could express.

I was living in New Viewpoint Orleans with my mother

by JANEKA and two siblings, Kelli, 12, PORTER and Wilfred, 10.

The first week of school sac-ranger@ alamo.edu started normally, but then talk about the coming hurricane was all I heard. Still, I didn’t think anything of it. That weekend, we were at my dad’s when he said we were leaving town because of a hurricane.

We usually never left for a hurricane, even if it was a serious one.

We packed our things and made our way to Houston the day before the storm was supposed to make landfall.

Lucky for us, my dad’s job was based in Houston, so we wouldn’t be out of food or money like so many others.

At 7:10 a.m. Aug. 29, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans as a strong Category 3 with winds of 125 mph.

I remember watching the news the next day. What I saw was so surreal. I could not believe my native city went under water in a matter of hours.

I cried, thinking I had no home and everything I ever knew was gone. I could never go back. I also thought I would never again see my mom, nursing Professor Vanessa Porter. I was livid that the reason my home was under water was because the levees broke. I felt like that could have been prevented.

I know this might sound stupid, but I also thought about my brand new white Adidas shell-toe tennis shoes I had just bought for school. People were looting in New Orleans so I was sure they were lost.

In a Houston hotel room, we were glued to the television for hours on end waiting for an update on home. My family ended up living

in a hotel for an entire month before we were OK’d to go back into the city.

Imagine six people living in a small hotel room for a month. Believe me, it was horrible and sharing a bathroom with my family was something I was never into since I was always being rushed out.

When we arrived on the edge of New Orleans, there were checkpoints with all these military guys carrying huge guns standing on the highway.

I couldn’t stop staring at the big AK-47 dangling next to my window while one of the men in uniform talked to my dad. I couldn’t help but think: Do they really need big guns for people who just want to see what they lost?

We finally got into the city after what seemed like a decade and the stench overwhelmed us. It didn’t smell like home anymore.

It smelled like dirty water, stagnant for weeks.

The city was like a ghost town; previously, it was usually full of life.

When we walked inside our home, the smell of old water surrounded us even more than outside.

We had a lot of roof damage, and our white walls were now brown with mold.

Some of my things were ruined because of water damage, but after grabbing my belongings and my white Adidas, which were sitting where I left them, we met Mom and moved with her to Fort Myers, Fla., which became our new home.

We stayed with my mom’s best friend who had moved there just before the hurricane.

New Orleans was all I knew, and if you know New Orleans, in Mayor Ray Nagin’s words, it was “Chocolate City.”

The only Hispanic I new was my Panamanian aunt who married into our family.

Now, in Florida, everything was in Spanish and everyone was Hispanic.

It definitely was a culture shock coming

from a city of black people to hearing a language I’ve never heard before.

My mom found a job at a cancer center where they were so grateful to have her that they paid our rent for a whole year. They offered us a lot of support to help us transition to our new home.

After living in Florida for a year and a half, my mom decided we needed to move closer to family. We didn’t really want to go back to New Orleans for fear of another Katrina. So we moved to San Antonio in 2007.

I finished high school at Roosevelt and graduated in 2009. I started St. Philip’s in the summer of 2009 as a sonography major.

When my major changed to journalism in spring 2011, I transferred to this college.

We visited home pretty often, but after Hurricane Katrina hit, nothing in New Orleans was the same. Mardi Gras even suffered that first year back.

New Orleans seemed to have lost its natural essence and seemed to have a new feel.

Fear was never there before.

New Orleans is still playing catch-up.

I thought I would never see anything like the devastation of Hurricane Katrina again, but my heart dropped Aug. 24 when I turned on the television to witness déjà vu.

New Orleans flooded again after Hurricane Isaac made landfall a day short of the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

I wondered why this keeps happening, just when New Orleans started to pick up again. Now it is back to square one, and now when I go home, probably at Thanksgiving, the city will be playing catch-up again.

I resented Hurricane Katrina for the longest time for breaking up my family more than it already was. But as time passed, I learned to turn the negative into a positive.

I had no home to return to, but I had a fresh start.

From this life-changing experience, I’ve learned nothing is permanent. Because I learned that, it makes me reach for my goals even more.

News

10 • The Ranger

Oct. 22 , 2012

www.theranger.org

ProRanger interns share experiences Transfer fair brings

38 institutions

By CHELSEA DRISKELL sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Three ProRanger cadets at this college agree that being in the ProRanger program has prepared them for a career as a ranger in national parks.

The two-year ProRanger program offers two 12-week paid internships at a national park in the United States.

These internships are paid in full by the National Park Service, which starts at about $12 an hour for 40 hours a week.

About 15 students are chosen per semester.

Experiences among students at various locations for the ProRanger internships this summer were similar.

Rosileen Ferioli, ProRanger cadet and former intern at San Juan National Historic Site, in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, said their internships and their classes prepare them for what to expect in the national parks as well as how to prepare a résumé, how to deal with other people and how to improve fitness.

The program helps mold them into the employees they want to be, she said.

San Juan National Historic Park includes the forts of Castillo San Cristobal, Fortin San Juan de la Cruz, Castillo San Felipe Del Morro and parts of the city walls.

These massive forts date back to the 1600s and were created to protect the “New World.”

San Juan is one of the oldest cities in the U.S. territory.

“My favorite experience was going to the shooting ranges and learning the step process of shooting a gun,” Ferioli said. “I had the opportunity to learn how to use them from experienced federal law enforcement officials from two different agencies.”

Ferioli said it was important for interns to stand out.

“Be open and willing to learn. Take advantage of the class. Take initiative and be willing to do anything. Learn

By ANGELO THOMAS DIXON sac-ranger@alamo.edu

ProRanger cadet Nathaniel Moreno interned at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota. AccuNet/AP

everything you can about the parks.

In order to move up, you have to stand out.”

Clifton Henning, former ProRanger intern at Big Thicket National Preserve in Kountze, said his best experience was the canoe trips on Village Creek in Silsbee.

Big Thicket National Preserve, the first national preserve in the National Park System, its known for it unique biological diversity containing species that are endangered or threatened.

“I fell into the creek about seven times on different occasions,” he said.

“I eventually learned how to do it pretty well. Everybody on those trips had fun and enjoyed each other.”

Some things he just could not prepare for, Hennings said.

“I came across a search and rescue for a teenage boy. The end result was that the boy drowned. Some kids were crossing a river when one lost balance.

He was found stuck between two logs.

“To see the family’s expression was something that I was not prepared for.”

Nathaniel Moreno, former ProRanger intern at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, said

his favorite experience was climbing to the top of Mount Rushmore for patrol every day.

The Black Hills includes a carving of four presidents of the United States.

These carvings include George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

“It was something I had always dreamt about, to have the opportunity to go up there and be a part of history and get to see the view from that perspective,” Moreno said. “The view is absolutely amazing. Most people will never get to say they had the chance to see that because it’s a closed area. It is something I will never forget.”

He had advice for others. “My advice to future interns would be to take a chance. You never know what’s in front of you until you actually do it.

Pull up your boots and go with it. See what can happen. Take the opportunities.”

The ProRanger class meets 3 p.m.6 p.m. Thursdays in Oppenheimer Academic Center.

For more information, call Dr. Lavell Merritt, program manager, at 210-486-1701.

The transfer center and graduation project will sponsor the fall Transfer Fair Oct. 29 in the Fiesta Room of Loftin Student Center.

From 9 a.m. until noon, students will get a chance to ask questions and get advice about colleges from across Texas and out of state.

Representatives of 38 colleges will have tables to answer questions about financial aid, transferring credits, and campus life.

Counselor Rosa Maria Gonzalez, suggests students be prepared to ask a lot of questions.

She said students should ask about the difficulty to get admitted, grade -point-average requirement and GPA calculations.

One of the most important questions to ask is if a college and the student’s major are a good match, she said.

Gonzalez said that sometimes students choose their college before checking if the college has their major available.

Time can be spent at the wrong college, and the mistake could cost students money.

One of the major issues of transferring is cost.

Transferring to any four-year college can put a strain on the

budget.

In an article on CNNMoney. com, the average annual cost of tuition, fees, books and housing for a public two-year college is $15,286 for a full-time student in 200112. The price increases to $21,447 for public four-year colleges and $42,224 for a private four-year.

“You need to look at how much scholarship money do they have available because you shouldn’t necessarily exclude them if they have good programs,” Gonzalez said.

Students who plan to transfer out of state should be prepared for higher tuition cost, Gonzalez said.

Students should also be aware of distance to and from out-of-state institutions.

Student must consider travel from their new college to home before transferring as well, Gonzalez said.

“Look at what’s a best for you as an individual.” she said.

Some of the schools attending are Texas A&M UniversityCollege Station, the University of Texas at San Antonio, St. Mary’s University, Savannah College of Art and Design and the University of Incarnate Word.

IAMA (International Academy of Music & the Arts) Coffee Company “A unique, creative, art space for coffee, meetings, music and mingling.”

Coffee House, Deli, Music Lessons Biker Rewards Program, Monthly Events Calendar, 10% Discount with Student/Military ID 1627 Broadway, 78215 · www.iamacoffeehouse.com · Phone: 210.669.4277 After Hours: 210.310.6298 Hours: Monday. 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Tuesday – Thursday 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. Saturday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Sports

Oct. 22, 2012

The Ranger • 11

www.theranger.org

Wellness Committee revamps 1-mile walk route The walking route was designed to improve physical health, wellness coordinator says.

By FELIPE PEREZ JR. sac-ranger@alamo.edu

The Wellness 1-mile walk has a new route that avoids the construction surrounding Scobee Planetarium.

The walk started in 2002 to give students, faculty and staff a safe route for exercise by the Wellness Committee.

The original route needed to be updated because construction of the nursing complex interrupted the route. The blocking off of Lot 21 and the mall west of Candler Physical Education Center also interrupted the route.

The construction around the planetarium is for the Challenger Learning Center.

Signs became warped from weathering and needed an update, Wellness Coordinator Chris Dillon said Monday. The 34 news signs were installed this semester to guide walkers through

the new route. people moving,” Dillon said.

Arrows have been added to guide walkers Dillon also suggested using the “buddy sysback to their starting point to complete the tem” if people need that kick-start. mile.

“The social wellness aspect leads to positive People can enter the walk at any of the signs. energy, and that energy is contagious and gets “Walking improves people moving,” Dillon your overall cardio vassaid. cular system and helps The Centers for • Invest in good shoes that with better breathing Disease Control and are proper for your foot type and posture,” Dillon Prevention said that • Always warm-up said. one in every three • Bring water “People that walk children born after the • Pay attention to your heart all the time have more year 2000 could develrate energy, and this leads op Type 2 diabetes • Use good posture to self-confidence and because of the growbeing a better student,” ing obesity epidemic in Source: Chris Dillon Dillon said. this country.

The Wellness If anyone needs Committee is using this walking route as part the motivation to get moving, Dillon is here of its goal to get more people active around to help. campus.

“I want them to come see me for couple of “Whether we have people working out at minutes so that I can educate them and motiSAC or working out at home, we just want vate them,” Dillon said.

Walking tips

His office is in 131E in Candler, and his phone number is 210-486-1025.

For more information, visit the department’s Facebook page http://www.facebook. com/sackinesiology or call 210-486-1010.

Punches to fly Friday in Olympic-style boxing The college team has eight female, seven male pujilists.

By INGRID WILGEN

icobham@student.alamo.edu

The office of student life is sponsoring a USA Olympic-style boxing event 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday in the mall.

This college’s boxing team will fight the Alcoser Boxing Club.

Student life director Jorge Posadas said the boxing club at this college is registered with USA Boxing.

The team’s sanction through USA Boxing makes student competitors eligible to fight in Golden Gloves and Olympic boxing events, he said.

Student activities specialist Carrie Hernandez said Ramos Boxing Team may participate as well.

The team is sponsored by a gym with the same name at 522 Moursand.

Gym owner Arturo Ramos is the father of Hector Ramos, this col-

lege’s boxing coach.

Beginner and veteran boxers will demonstrate their prowess at the campus event, including 15 boxers from this college. Eight of these are women.

The weigh-in and physical begin at 8:30 a.m.

Hector Ramos said the team has stepped up its game and members are training to win.

This event will be nursing sophomore Maria Altamirano’s 10th fight. Completing this bout will move Altamirano from the novice class to the open class.

Novice class contains boxers who have fewer than 10 fights in their passbook.

Business freshman Danny Vasquez is new to boxing but not new to the ring.

Vasquez is a mixed martial arts fighter, a sport that allows fighters to strike their opponents with punches and kicks.

Kinesiology sophomore Sanae Boutahar keeps count of the number of toe touches liberal arts freshman Sean Robert Engleka does during boxing practice Oct. 12 in the Fiesta Room of Loftin. Gloria Fernandez De Clements “Most of my weapons have been taken away since I can’t kick,” he said. “This is another form of art for me.”

Hector Ramos said fighters are matched according to their abilities.

Hernandez said the bout list will not be out until the end of the week.

Posadas said Thursday the cost of the event is $5,105, which includes renting the boxing ring and paying sanction fees.

For more information, call student life at 210-486-0125.

Police offer bike registration

By ANGELO THOMAS DIXON sac-ranger@alamo.edu

The crime prevention unit of the Alamo College police department will register bicycles 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday in the mall.

Patrol officer Shane Isbell, coordinator of the event, said the free bicycle registration is for everyone.

“We’ll take a picture of the bicycle and get information about it, like a serial number,” Isbell said. The registration does not extend outside Alamo Colleges, but the Alamo Colleges police department will assist any other law enforcement agency track down a stolen bike by sharing registration information.

The National Bike Registry website also provides these services for a fee of $10 for 10 years or $25 for a 30-year transferrable coverage registration. The registry can be located at www.nationalbikeregistry.com.

The website states that more than 48 percent of bicycle are recovered after being stolen, but only 5 percent are ever returned to there rightful owner because there is no way of determining rightful ownership.

The program in Alamo Colleges is similar to the one instituted at the University of Texas at Austin, but that university requires any student who rides a bike on campus to register it.

Students must provide the bicycle’s serial number and the owner’s college ID number.

Sam Cortez, bicycle coordinator at UT-Austin, said benefits for the program include returning bikes to students if stolen or lost. Also, if a registered bicycle is parked illegally, campus police are able to call the registered bike owner and have it moved before chains and locks are cut.

Registration also can be a theft deterrent, Cortez said. “If a thief see the registration sticker on the bike of the bike, chances are he moves on,” he said.

The college’s boxing team trains Oct. 12 in the Fiesta Room of Loftin. The team will participate in a boxing event sponsored by the office of student life 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday in the mall. Gloria Fernandez De Clements

12 • The Ranger

News

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Oct. 22, 2012