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Volume 88 Issue 11 • Feb. 7, 2014
210-486-1773 • Single copies free
PENNY WISE Save before spending Before concentrating on saving money with a certificate of deposit, bonds or a trust, college students must know how much money they have spent from checking accounts. “A lot of members don’t look at pending transactions,” said Aaron Martinez, customer service representative for River City Federal Credit Union. He said it’s important to check your ledger, which keeps a permanent summary of all amounts taken and deposited into the account. They can be found on the bottom of a bank statement for those with a debit or credit card or by looking up an online bank statement. “It’s about making sure they keep track of their transactions,” he said. “Some people think a credit card is more like a debit card.” There are multiple ways to save money and keep track of spending. A certificate of deposit is an account in which you deposit a certain amount of money and don’t touch it for a specified period of time. At River City Federal Credit Union, a one-year term with a balance of $1,000-$99,999.99 earns 0.45 percent per year and a balance with $100,000 or above earns 0.50 percent. The longer the term is, the more interest is earned. Funds in CDs receive more interest than in a savings account because the bank can use that principle until the due date. There is a penalty for taking out the money before the specified time frame. Banks commonly offer CDs of one, two and three years. CD rates have been historically low for the past few years, but they offer more interest than a savings account. For example, a River City Federal Credit Union CD of $2,000 with a 0.75 percent interest rate and a term of 24 months will earn $30.22 interest. Although it may not seem like much, the CD earns more than a regular 0.15 percent per month interest on savings. Full-time students enrolled in a community college can open a twoyear CD before they start classes, and the bond will mature about the time they graduate. The money can either be kept in the same account for another term or it can be moved to a different CD. Bonds are another option. Up to $250,000 is insured in a CD, but bonds are uninsured and yield a higher interest rate because of that. The River City Federal Credit Union is at 610 Augusta St. Call 210225-6866.
Katherine Garcia
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Outstanding Former Student, icon of community to be celebrated Friday By Neven Jones and Kathya Anguiano
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District leaves transfer center understaffed By Marina Garcia
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Community leader and social activist William “Bill” Rashall Sinkin died Monday at the age of 100. He attended this college in 1930-32, when it was less than a decade old and called San Antonio Junior College at the German-English School campus on south Alamo Street. Sinkin was proud of being a former student of this college and became a very supportive friend, not only to the staff but to the college as well, President Robert Zeigler said Tuesday. “I would just like to say that I and everyone at SAC appreciate his contributions to the campus and how he cared enough to support us with his presence and showed value to the college,” Zeigler said. For 1993-94, the banker was named Outstanding Former Student and as part of the college’s 75th anniversary celebration, he was honored by the Alumni Association as one of 75 Outstanding Alumni. Sinkin was president of many student organizations and a charter member and president of Phi Theta Kappa-Beta Nu Chapter, a two-year international honor society. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1934 from University of Texas in Austin. Despite resistance from his white customers, Sinkin employed African-Americans at Texas Bank on W.W. White Road on the city’s far
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William “Bill” Rashall Sinkin enjoying the Lory Landing exhibit at the San Antonio Zoo in spring 2012. Sinkin also enjoyed his time as a student at this college in 193032, participating in sports, student government and clubs. Courtesy Josh Huskins East Side and providing small loans that launched or encouraged growth in black-owned businesses. “Bill was a leader in the business world,” ex-Mayor Lila Cockrell said. Sinkin, along with this college’s
first Outstanding Former Student, Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez, was one of the founders and the first president of the city’s world fair, HemisFair ’68, developed on downtown land across
See SINKIN, Page 8
For lack of a clerk, calls to the transfer center are met with a voicemail message that the mailbox is full, Rosa Maria Gonzalez, transfer center coordinator and counselor, said. As a result, the phone is not always the best way to contact the transfer center, Gonzalez said. Cesar Kiguelman, a student at this college, was a part-time clerk for about six months but resigned for personal reasons. The clerk is responsible for answering phone calls and keeping track of voicemail. The last time the transfer center had a full-time clerk was more than a year ago. Requests to fill the position have been turned down because of budget constraints. The department has only been authorized to hire a part-time clerk, but Gonzalez anticipates a long wait. The college website provides information about counseling and advising and scheduling an appointment. The transfer center is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and Tuesdays until 7 p.m. Every first Saturday of the month the center is open 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Call Gonzalez at 210-486-0342 or the main transfer number, 210486-0868. Those numbers should be answered.
Faculty question ‘7 Habits’ addition to core See an earlier story at theranger.org.
about the district’s decision not to include faculty in the decision-making and what will happen next. By Bleah B. Patterson “Faculty from across the independently accredbpatterson13@student.alamo.edu ited colleges worked hard to develop a crossA course being added to the core has caused college curriculum review process,” he said. “We quite a stir among the Alamo Colleges. are disappointed to see this process completely EDUC 1300, Learning Framework, is scheduled ignored during the current attempt by district to be added to the core in fall 2014 if the Texas administration to revise the core.” Higher Education Board approves Dr. Thomas E. Billimek, psythe change. chology and sociology chair, said Town hall meeting Faculty have pushed back at on core curriculum he fears that this blatant breach the district’s implementation of the of procedure will endanger this change 4 p.m. course at the direction of Chancellor college’s upcoming reaffirmation Monday Bruce Leslie. of accreditation. in NAHC 218. The Northwest Vista College EDUC 1300, Learning Faculty Senate sent a letter dated Framework, researches psychoJan. 29 to the THECB petitioning the agency to reject logical learning theory and ways to improve motithe change. vation and cognition in students, according to the To make room for the course in the 42-hour eCatalog course description. core curriculum, the additional humanities The course will focus on “factors that impact requirement will be eliminated. learning, and application of learning strategies” “The current six-hour humanities requirement but is also planned as the venue for adding trainis one of the few areas of the core curriculum ing in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” where a diversity of choices still exists for stuThe district has so far spent $700,000 on traindents,” Craig Coroneos, NVC humanities profes- ing and materials. sor, said. “Whether it is a Mexican-American literFaculty and staff are being trained first in the ature course or a course in world civilizations, we self-help book published in 1989 that has become feel that preserving a strong humanities compo- a worldwide phenomenon, with more than 25 milnent in the core helps enable students to become lion copies sold. better critical thinkers, citizens of the world and to This program is intended to train participants lead more fulfilling lives,” he said. for seven weeks, however, it is now being taught to Coroneos said he feels slighted and is worrying faculty in a much shorter period.
In 1999, grade schools around the country began picking up Covey’s book to train their educators, beginning in North Carolina. Today Northside Independent School District uses Covey’s fundamental ideas to build these habits in their students. Coroneos worries that this could be another step in dumbing down the educational system in what he calls “synergy.” “When I heard of the proposal to replace three of the humanities core credits with a course emphasizing Covey’s ‘7 Habits,’ I instantly thought about how my grade school children might react should they ever attend one of the Alamo Colleges after having 13 years of Covey,” Coroneos said. “I’m not sure if the adopting of the values by both NISD and Alamo Colleges is a planned ‘synergy’ or the result of a lack of communication in the so-called ‘K-16’ pipeline.” Though the brainchild of NVC President Jacqueline Claunch, Coroneos said she never intended for the course to be forced on faculty and students this way. The integral purpose of EDUC 1300 was to give students the option to take a course that would enhance their leadership skills. The intent was never to require students to take the course, but to provide it apart from a degree plan. The office of the president of Northwest Vista College said Claunch, who tendered her resignation Jan. 29, is out of town until Saturday and unavailable for comment.