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Volume 88 Issue 15 • March 21, 2014

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PENNY WISE

Committee recommends retirement incentive

Savings account helps establish credit

Rebalancing the staff with 200 retirements in non-critical need areas is the goal.

A secured credit card can be the first step.

By Katherine Garcia

Before establishing credit, students should open a savings account whether they are working or receiving financial aid, a senior financial sales adviser at BBVA Compass Bank, said.

The savings will help pay rent, fix a flat tire or cover other emergencies, she said.

A good way to establish credit is to obtain a secured credit card, she said.

Money must first be put aside in a savings account.

The account is frozen and the secured credit card is issued against the money in the account, she said.

The savings account is used as a “security deposit,” she said.

Banks may charge a small fee for the card.

Even though the credit card is secured, banks will still report to credit bureaus if payments are late or on time, she said.

A good rule of thumb is to use about 30 percent of the available balance, then pay it back on time, she said.

After about a year, students can graduate to a regular unsecured credit card, she said.

Students who use debit cards should be aware they do not establish credit.

They are a convenient way to access checking accounts instead of using checks, she said.

“The sooner you start building credit, the better off you will be,” she said.

If students wait too long to establish credit, they may be forced to pay the maximum interest rates when trying to get a loan, she said.

After graduating, many students will be ready to buy a car, move out of their parents’ house or the dorm and will need good credit, she said.

Having no credit is slightly better than bad credit; negative marks can stay on a credit report for two years or more depending on the creditor, she said.

The adviser recommends checking credit scores on a free website such as www.annualcreditreport. com. Do not pay for your credit score, she advised.

There are many scams that will charge a credit card, she said.

Permission from the company to use the adviser’s name was not obtained by press time.

Neven Jones

For a direct link to theranger.org, download a qr reader from the app store today

kgarcia203@student.alamo.edu

A retirement incentive program presented during the Audit, Budget and Finance Committee meeting Tuesday in Killen Center has been forwarded for recommended approval at the Tuesday regular board meeting.

According to the minute order, up to $6 million

would be set aside as retirement incentive bonuses and would be earned back in 13 months by saving “through the elimination of positions and salaries.”

The incentive would be a one-time payment equal to 50 percent of base salary not exceeding $47,500 for fulltime employees meeting the rule of 80, a combined num-

ber of years of service and age equaling 80.

Presidents, chancellors and vice chancellors are not eligible for the program.

Linda Boyer-Owens, associate vice chancellor of human resources and organization, presented the program to the board, saying the incentive has been offered twice in the past few years.

The last program turned over about 189 positions, and the district refilled about 25

percent of the positions, or about 50 people.

She said the incentive also would rebalance the staff, and it “helps us free up positions that we can then redeploy to areas where we have significant demand in terms of program growth or additional support requirements that we’re identifying now.”

Areas in which employees would be needed if more employees retired include health career fields; advis-

ing; and STEM, which stands for science, technology engineering and math.

She said the plan is to reduce about 40 percent of the positions expected to turn over and reassign another 60 percent, or 120, positions.

Of the 343 eligible, 158 are employees of this college.

Two hundred of the 343 eligible employees are

See RETIREMENT, Page 4

Accreditation firm voices concerns about EDUC 1300 Liaison says college and district officials are not worried about effects on accreditation.

By Bleah B. Patterson

bpatterson13@student.alamo.edu

Going under Applied science sophomore Dillon Lawler dives in the pool during bobbing, an exercise that promotes calm in the swimmer while getting accustomed to not breathing March 6 in Candler. Lawler dove to the bottom, removed his fins, surfaced and repeated the routine. Recreational swimming requires a Banner ID 1 p.m.-3 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 3 p.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. Daniel Carde

A senior vice president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges emailed the president of St. Philip’s College and the organization’s liaison March 7 seeking information on EDUC 1300, Learning Framework, replacing a humanities course in the fall 2014 core curriculum.

SAC/COC is the agency responsible for accreditation, and St. Philip’s is preparing for its 2016 reaccreditation.

Michael Johnson, SAC/COC wrote President Adena Williams Loston and Dr. Karen Sides, dean of interdisciplinary studies, who serves as the college’s liaison with the accrediting agency, saying SAC/COC has received phone calls in response to articles in the Chronicle of Higher Education and InsideHigherEd. com regarding the core change and breaches of process excluding faculty from the decision.

“I had spoken to someone about this a couple of weeks ago, but the articles suggest more to the story than that conversation had suggested,” he wrote.

He asked Loston and Sides to put aside some time to give him background on the process and course.

“My concerns are, first, that EDUC 1300 pretty clearly is not a

‘pure’ humanities course, so the question becomes, what course can students take to satisfy the remaining humanities requirement?

If that other course is English composition, a foreign language, or a speech (public speaking) course, then you will not be in compliance with CR 2.7.3 … this could be especially problematic for (Associate of Applied Science) students.”

Additional questions concern process and faculty approval.

The same day, Loston forwarded the email to Chancellor Bruce Leslie and said, “We did call as requested,” to which Leslie replied, “Let me work with the team to frame a formal response,” according to the email exchange provided to The Ranger.

Sides verified the email’s legitimacy. “Right now, we’re waiting for the chancellor to craft his response,” Sides said via phone Tuesday. “April 15th is the response deadline. We’re all just in research mode right now.”

Sides said anytime an accrediting body approaches a college this way, it raises concerns, but she said Loston and Leslie feel confident that it will be worked out.

Calls to Leslie’s office Wednesday went unanswered.

“The institution places primary

See ACCREDITATION, Page 4

Bids wanted to build administration complex at Playland

By Katherine Garcia

kgarcia203@student.alamo.edu

The Alamo Colleges plans to build a central district headquarters at 2222 N. Alamo St., the former site of Playland Park amusement park.

The site was purchased July 18, 2008, for $4.131 million.

In a board of trustees meeting Oct. 22, 2008, students and Faculty Senate shared opposition for the estimated $131 million headquarters.

The proposal was dropped from

the agenda in December of that year.

Since 2012, it has been used for overflow parking for this college.

A request for site development bids was published in the March 2 issue of the San Antonio Express-News.

“There is no timeline,” John Strybos, associate vice chancellor of facilities operation and construction management, said March 6.

The request said a partnership would either involve a public-private partnership, like the one used to build

Tobin Lofts, or an “offer to exchange a qualifying existing property.”

Properties available for exchange are offices on West Houston Street, Killen Center and the Northeast Center. The district also owns land west of Interstate 10 at the Kendall County line for a sixth college.

According to the request, the new complex would be 146,166 assignable square feet for offices, and 224,870 gross square feet, for hallways, mechanical spaces and rest-

rooms, Strybos said.

A conference regarding the request for bids will be at 3 p.m.

April 3 in Room 218 of the nursing complex at this college.

Bids or proposals can be mailed to Alamo Colleges Purchasing and Contract Administration Department, 1300 San Pedro Ave., Box 693, San Antonio TX 78212.

Bids also can be delivered to 1743 N. Main Ave., Building 41, Room 101.

Read the full story online.

2 • March 21, 2014

People

www.theranger.org/people

Biology by hand Left: Sandra Perez, nursing sophomore and lab technician assistant, pours iodine into a 2000 milliliters graduated Erlynmeyer flask Tuesday in Chance. Iodine is used for gram staining, which is typically the first step in identifying unknown bacteria. The lab is only for students taking microbiology, with open lab hours 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday; 8:30 a.m.-9:15 a.m., 11:15 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and 3:50 p.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday; 9:50 a.m.-12:50 p.m. and 2:50 p.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday and Friday. Daniel Carde

Zootenial

Dava McCarthy and son Ely, 2, look at fish in the Africa Live aquarium at the San Antonio Zoo March 7 to celebrate Zootennial. McCarthy said this is the first time they have visited the zoo and they planned to ride the new carousel later that day. A total of $8 million was spent for the Zootennial, including the carousel and an upscale restaurant. Read the story at theranger.org. Riley Stephens

Animal FARM

Amanda Just, Farm Animal Rights Movement tour guide, is discussing with a group of students Wednesday in the mall a four-minute video about the treatment of farm animals. FARM paid $1 for watching the video in exchange for names and email addresses for a follow-up survey. FARM was here Thursday also. Daniel Carde

Construction zone

Vaughn Construction Co. demolishes the courtyard connecting Gonzales, McCreless and Loftin Tuesday to improve the drainage system at McCreless. One employee uses a chipping hammer, while two others measure where concrete will be poured. The basement level of McCreless flooded Memorial Day weekend, closing the building through the summer. Mandy Derfler

Dancin’ machine

Business management sophomore Donovan Lathan dances to We Are Toonz’s “Drop Dat NaeNae” Tuesday south of Loftin. Lathan said he chose this spot because the floor is slick and he needed some sun. He has been dancing since he was 5 and typically dances three hours a day. Daniel Carde

News

www.theranger.org/news

NVC faculty opposes ebooks

By Cassandra M. Rodriguez crodriguez719@student.alamo.edu

Northwest Vista College’s Faculty Senate expressed opposition March 5 to replacing textbooks with e-books and adding the cost to tuition in a meeting with Jo-Carol Fabianke, vice chancellor for academic success.

“Are the district and chancellor thinking about upgrading the server?” history Professor Carlos Acosta asked.

“All students in the district will have to have access. Something is going to have to be done for this stuff to work the way you want it to. If my students can’t access their books while in class, that is going to be a problem,” Acosta said.

Fabianke said costly improvements are planned.

“I don’t see that this is favorable to students,” chemistry Professor Simon Van Dijk said. “Some students purchase other versions because of better prices. By linking text price to tuition, we are forcing students to buy from Follett, and I have a problem with that.”

Humanities Professor Carlos Lopez asked, “What if the student does not have access to a computer at home? Those materials charged would be pointless.”

Biology Professor Brian Stout said, “For certain courses, the benefit may outweigh the problem, but now they are forced to have an e-book. I think that’s the big issue. I know students who have started to hear about this are upset.”

“Long term, this will be the way students access material,” Fabianke said, adding Texas A&M UniversitySan Antonio uses ebooks.

Jan. 23, The Mesquite at TAMU-SA reported 50 percent of courses there use e-books and the cost is added to students’ tuition. Lopez said, “That’s A&M; that’s not us.”

“I think we are very different because we are in the classroom teaching our kids. It’s what the administration is doing, forcing it down our throats without even letting us or the students know,” Acosta said.

Fabianke said, “We have to do our best to implement what the board has instructed. They can’t say what materials are used, but they have the right to dictate how we operate.”

STUDY

March 21, 2014 • 3

Faculty question new tracking of learning outcomes Training for eLumen system begins this semester.

By Cassandra M. Rodriguez crodriguez719@student.alamo.edu

Dr. David Wood, dean of performance excellence, answered questions about tracking student learning outcomes from this college’s Faculty Senate March 5.

“ELumen was built with the idea of measuring college-level learning outcomes,” Wood said.

“ELumen is an SLO tracking system that will replace the Excel matrices faculty use.”

He said learning outcomes measure students’ knowledge, skills and abilities and provide a comprehensive measure of what students learn in a course.

Faculty interested in using eLumen to track SLOs can start in the fall semester. ELumen was piloted with a group of about eight faculty members at the end of last semester at this college.

“It’s going to be more straightforward to use,” Wood said.

He said it will provide a better opportunity to manage data and produce more comprehensive reports. Course information should “roll over” to the next semester, he said. Representatives from eLumen will show faculty how to enter their outcomes and align assignments and exam questions.

He hopes eLumen is available to train faculty in March, but it might occur in April because, “eLumen is finalizing the training specifics that we need,” Wood said.

Wood said eLumen won’t be mandatory for fall, but he wants eLumen for some faculty mem-

Dr. David Wood, dean of performance excellence, explains eLumen to the Faculty Senate March 5.

Belinda Hernandez bers so they can help others in the fall.

“The district has been pushing to have a standard set of learning outcomes for all courses in the district,” Wood said. It will include identified state and district learning outcomes. The learning outcomes are found in syllabuses for each course.

“What is the purpose of this for the student?” math Professor Gerald Busald asked.

Students can track their progress throughout a course, Wood said.

One of the accreditation requirements from Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges requires the college to track students longitudinally, he said.

The college has eight competencies as part of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board core objectives. Learning outcomes are written around the competencies, Woods said.

Students should be able to perform the eight competencies upon graduation. The competen-

cies are critical thinking skills, communication skills, empirical and quantitative skills, teamwork, social responsibility, personal responsibility, leadership and performance.

A score of these competencies will be on students’ transcripts. It will show the level to which they attained those competencies, he said.

“Somebody had this philosophy that all students had the ability to learn the same amount of things,” history Professor Mike Settles asked. “It just takes some longer to learn than others. So is this going to be better?”

“How is this feedback to faculty going to make me a better teacher?” asked Lisa Black, Faculty Senate secretary and a student development professor.

“If they are doing really well teaching a certain topic one way, then maybe they want to see what it is they are doing to teach that topic that might help teach another topic students aren’t getting as well,” he said.

He said the benefit to faculty is they can troubleshoot teaching methods during their courses without having to totally revamp the course to help improve student learning and outcomes in those weaker areas.

“If a faculty member is actively looking at those parts of a course that are toughest and trying to find better ways to teach it, theoretically, a student will have an easier time learning and be more successful as a result,” Woods said.

The Faculty Senate’s next meeting is 3 p.m.

April 2 in Room 120 of the visual arts center.

For more information about eLumen training, call Wood at 210-486-0063.

THECB nixes eight fine arts courses from core

By Ansley Lewis

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Professors from the fine arts program are not happy with changes to this college’s core objectives.

The revisions approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board included adding EDUC 1300, Learning Framework and removing seven art courses and one dance course from the core curriculum for fall 2014.

“College is supposed to provide students with a broader variety of education,” Professor Rebecca Dietz said. “These courses establish peer groups within the classroom.”

She said performance-based courses encourage people to look at other cultures to try to understand them. “There is no reason why it should not be there,” Dietz said.

“A lot of people don’t really know to kill the art department. They don’t how smart they are until they’ve see the arts in general as imporseen how smart they are visually,” tant,” Adjunct Salvador Torres said.

Professor Susan Witta-Kemph said. “If these people had been around in “That gives them confidence in their the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci other classes when they recognize would not have had a job. The arts their own intelligence. would have collapsed because there “I think that’s would have been no something that hapsupport for them.”

Read the pens many times in The chancellor full story at a drawing class or has been at odds theranger.org. painting class that with faculty over doesn’t happen in art replacing one of two appreciation,” Wittahumanities courses Kemph said. in the college core with EDUC 1300, In conjunction with WittaLearning Framework.

Kemph’s statement, Professor Dr. Conrad Krueger, dean of Thomas Willome said, “In other arts and sciences, suggested faculty words, the Coordinating Board is should appeal if they do not agree. visually illiterate.”

“They would have to petition.

Other complaints focused on the They’d have to see if there is an chancellor and trustees.“They want appeals process,” Krueger said.

Groups foster love-hate relationship

Student organizes daily study groups.

By Pam Paz

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

When it comes to study groups or group class work, students either love it or hate it.

Group work usually means students are assigned to work together on a project, and group study involves students teaching each other outside of class.

Mike Burton, chair of English, reading and education, said a common complaint about group work is that the most ambitious student does all the work.

Of group study, Burton said peer teaching is highly effective. “Probably the most effective way to learn is to teach someone who knows it a little bit less than you do.”

Burton said team projects completed by a group are not the same as peer teaching. In team projects, the students only focus on their own part and there is no teaching going on.

Burton said in his composition classes, the only type of group work he assigns is peer editing. He finds it more successful than breaking students into groups.

The writing center in Room 203 of Gonzales Hall provides students the opportunity to learn from peers in a group environment.

Music sophomore Dallas Evans loves group study.

He said group work and study groups are beneficial and students get more out of them, and it’s less intimidating to learn from peers than from a teacher.

Evans, a former enrollment management employee, bonded with students before he became one. He can be found daily on the second floor of Moody Learning Center with study groups he organizes at a table near the book drop.

Evans said anyone can meet with him in Moody; students don’t have to be in the same classes, but it’s nice to have others there to bounce ideas off.

Professor Bruce Davis of media creative services, a radio-television-film adjunct, sat with Evans Wednesday. “Dallas enables, facilitates and creates an environment that’s open and inviting to share ideas.”

Davis said students don’t like working on class assignments in groups because not all members participate.

He said when group work is assigned, it is important for all members to communicate effectively.

If a student is unable to meet with the group or if something comes up, then it’s important to let the other group members know so the group can make alternate arrangements, Davis said.

Visit einstein.yu.edu and search tips for getting the most out of study groups.

“Basically, they can go through the Curriculum Committee to find that out.”

Dr. Vernell Walker, dean of professional and technical education and chair of the College Curriculum Committee, said, “In regards to how it will affect the department, I think it will decrease enrollment. If courses are taken out of a core — and you’re working on completing a core — if you saw the courses were not in there, you wouldn’t register for them.”

Students also object to the changes.

“This is probably a downgrade,” graphic design sophomore Ethan Segovia said.

“Those are hands-on classes.

Lectures will probably be harder for students to grasp an understanding.”

LIVING Less sleep isn’t more A lack of sleep causes poor performance.

By Mandi Flores

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Not sleeping enough can cause problems in daily life.

Getting as little as six hours of sleep a night can be harmful, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine warns.

“After two weeks of sleeping six hours or less a night, students feel as bad and perform as poorly as someone who has gone without sleep for 48 hours,” wrote Lawrence Epstein, M.D., medical director of Sleep Health Centers in Brighton, Mass., an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, on the academy’s website.

Dr. Thomas Billimek, chair of psychology and sociology, recommends eight hours of sleep a night.

There are ways to get more sleep.

Overall good health habits are needed to fall asleep and stay asleep,

Billimek said Feb. 21.

“Slowing everything down for the day, exercising and not eating big meals before bed,” Billimek suggested can help.

An informal survey Feb. 24 on the mall found 26 of 40 students said they get more than four hours of sleep a night, although 12 said they do not get more than six.

Two men said they make sure to get at least eight hours every night.

One of the reasons students do not get enough sleep is because they lead very busy lives, Billimek said.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, other tips including keeping the room dark, the temperature 60-67 degrees, avoiding naps late in the afternoon and sticking to a sleep schedule every day, even weekends.

For more information, visit www. sleepfoundation.org.

News

4 • March 21, 2014

www.theranger.org/news

Faculty legal group seeks EDUC 1300, Covey documents

By Bleah B. Patterson

bpatterson13@student.alamo.edu

The Alamo Community College District Faculty Legal Association, an organization representing faculty members in legal matters, had an attorney file an open records request March 4, for all correspondence, meeting notes or minutes, and financial or creative agreements between the district, FranklinCovey Co. and Pearson Publishing.

Math Professor Gerald Busald, president of the legal association, said members are disturbed that FranklinCovey Co. contracts were drawn before the EDUC 1300, Learning Framework, course, was approved to replace one humanities requirement in the core curriculum and was brought to faculty’s attention.

“We’ve probably requested information similar to what The Ranger has already, but we’ve also requested correspondence so we can see their intention,” Busald said.

The Ranger Online published a copy of on addendum between FranklinCovey and the district on March 6. It is available at theranger. org.

“What are they spending it on?

What agreements have been made?

Have they already agreed to partner with Covey to create a book that they will then charge students $100 a pop for? Those are the questions we’re trying to get answers to.”

Busald said the district started a contract with FranklinCovey before EDUC 1300, Learning Framework, was discussed, so faculty involvement would not be relevant.

“The commitment has already been made to Covey,” he said.

Jefferson Brim III, partner at Brim, Arnett, Robinett and Conners P.C., an Austin law firm, wrote the letter and sent it to Nancy Kempf, district coordinator of publications.

“Each agency upon any request for records … shall determine within 10 days after the receipt of any such

RETIREMENT from Page 1 expected to participate, and the incentive is firstcome, first-served until the $6 million set aside is depleted. The option could open as soon as April 1, and those wishing to retire by Aug. 31 would have to file by June 1, and those wishing to retire by Jan. 9, 2015, would have to file by July 1.

Employees receiving the incentive would receive a lump-sum payment within 30 days of separation and could not be rehired full-time within two years but could be rehired for part-time work after a one-month separation.

She said a large number of faculty return as adjuncts.

“What guarantees do you have that the retirees

request whether to comply with such request and shall immediately notify the person making such request of such determination,” the Texas Public Information Act prescribes.

“However, in this case spring break does not count in those 10 days. So they’re not being untimely just yet,” Brim said Wednesday.

Brim has been contacted by ACCD’s attorney, someone he has worked with in the past, and has been asked to clarify the request.

“Since I’ve worked with him before, I trust that he’s just being efficient,” Brim said. “He has also made it clear through everything they’ve said to me that they want to get this done in a timely manner.”

Brim said there is no reason the requested information shouldn’t fall under the Open Records Act, “though I’m sure they’ll attempt to reserve the right to confidentiality,” he said.

Busald is leery of the Learning Framework course. “It’s hard to see the advantage of every person going

will be in those areas where you have a declining need?” District 8 trustee Gary Beitzel asked.

Boyer-Owens said there is no guarantee. “If you pull in 200 of the 343 that are eligible, we are going to hit a lot of areas where we need to downsize,” she said. “But we could turn over some people we really need, and we have to replace into those positions.

“What’s your plan if you don’t get a sufficient number of retirees out of those declining need areas?” Beitzel asked.

Diane Snyder, vice chancellor of finance and administration, answered, “But we have looked at the eligibility and what all the folks that could qualify, that may elect this, we believe that it will have a benefit to the institution to those areas that

through Covey. Right now they’re in the process of teaching me how to be a good teacher,” he said with a laugh.

Busald received a statewide Piper Professor Award in 2011.

“Mayor Castro is apparently all for this, but what I want to know is if he would be willing to pay for city employees to take it the way we’ve been forced to? Someone should ask him that. Politics would stop him in his tracks and he would be defeated,” Busald said.

“We don’t have any politics here.

The chancellor is in charge of the board, so we don’t even have an effective board.” A board is what happens when people are allowed to disagree, he said.

“As long as we have a unanimous vote every time, 8-1 at worst, we will never have an effective board,” he said.

“I’m sure I’m not popular with the district, but I’m willing to live with that. Someone needs to stand up,” he said.

we really have capacity that we could then be able to fill in some positions elsewhere.”

Chancellor Bruce Leslie explained, “We will manage well so we never have to lay off, we never have to furlough, we never have to cut people’s salaries. That’s our objective and this helps us to achieve it.”

Besides the fiscal benefits, District 1 trustee Roberto Zarate asked the chancellor what the benefits to students are.

“If we have lower student enrollments in certain programs, you don’t necessarily need to have as many full-time people as we have, and it’s better for the students for us to shift those resources to where we really need to have them,” Leslie said.

ACCREDITATION from Page 1 responsibility for content, quality and effectiveness of its curriculum with its faculty,” according to CS. 3.4.10.

CR 2.7.3 in the SACS/COC resource manual specifies subjects in the core curriculum should, “Promote intellectual inquiry, general education courses present a breath of knowledge, not focusing on skills, techniques and procedures specific to the students occupation of profession … General education is based on coherent rationale.”

“Second, the articles speak of the internal approval of the change possibly not following normal approval processes,” Johnson wrote.

Johnson went on to cite CS. 3.4.1, 3.4.5, 3.4.10 and 3.7.5, saying each institution should be able to demonstrate any academic credit awarded to students is approved by the faculty.

“This is not a formal inquiry (we will send a letter if that is needed),” Johnson said, “I’m just seeking a bit more background at this time so I can deal with the calls we are fielding.”

Gregory Hudspeth, president of St. Philip’s Faculty Senate wasn’t sure how much information he was allowed to release to the public. “I will say that (SAC/ COC) are asking questions,” he said. “We simply didn’t go through the proper process.”

Hudspeth continued, “The chancellor may have been able to get the (Texas Higher Education) Coordinating Board to go along with this, but the agency might be different story.”

News

www.theranger.org/news

March 21, 2014 • 5

Student hosts on-campus Death Café

By Ty-Eshia Johnson sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Mortuary science major Dana Fox hosted the first Death Café in the city Feb. 12, and she plans the second this evening.

Fox’s mother, a fellow student and professor, were among seven people who attended the forum because they were the first to express an interest in Death Café.

The group, which meets in Room 231 of Nail Technical Center, has scheduled the next session at 6 p.m. today. Death Café runs for two hours.

Death Café is not a counseling session or grief support group. Forums have been established around the world. In Texas, groups operate in Austin and Houston.

“There’s not a specific subject,” Fox said. There is no limit to the number of topics discussed.

Discussion topics range from miscarriages to spiritual encounters, but there are no off-limit topics.

“It’s an informal sitting, talking about death,” Fox said.

Inspired by the works of Bernard Crettaz, a Swiss sociologist and anthropologist who set up Cafes Mortels and hosted gatherings to discuss death, Jon Underwood founded Death Café in November 2010.

In 2012, Underwood started a nonprofit social enterprise called Impermanence. The Death Café is a nonprofit social franchise, one of three proj-

ects Underwood operates under Impermanence to increase the awareness of death and provide free funeral advising and other related services.

With the help of his mother, Underwood hosted the first Death Café at his home in Hackney, London, in September 2011, and continued meeting in various locations, including cemeteries.

Those still coping with the loss of a loved one are encouraged to seek help before joining the Café. Fox wants people to be prepared for the discussion.

Mortuary science Professor Mary Allen-Martin said only women attended the first meeting. They spoke about miscarriage, and several who were once pregnant discussed how uncomfortable it was for them. Allen-Martin’s first pregnancy several years ago ended in a miscarriage.

“People are uncomfortable talking about death and loss,” she said.

When asked about the difficulty speaking on the subject of miscarriage. Martin said it was easy discussing the subject because the women who had the same experience understood each other’s feelings.

“We were not emotional talking about it,” Allen-Martin said. She plans to attend the next meeting.

Mortuary science Chair Felix Gonzales said, “It makes me uncomfortable when others are uncomfortable about death.”

Gonzales remembered a cashier in an airport who asked about Gonzales’ tie clip featuring a shovel. Gonzales said he was an undertaker. Then the cashier hesitated to take his money.

Gonzales said whenever he mentions his job, people make jokes. “I have something that everyone is going to need,” he said.

A friend told him he is in the perfect business.

Fox said she hopes Death Café will be successful enough to branch throughout the city, but worries that the forum will grow too quickly from the limit of 30 she envisions.

More people means a bigger meeting space.

Also, she is providing refreshments so other participants would have to pitch in.

Fox said anyone can start their own Death Café by contacting Underwood and agreeing to the guidelines.

Underwood and his mother published the Death Café Guide in February 2012 on how to start and run a Death Café.

The first Death Café person to pick up the guide was Lizzy Miles of Columbus, Ohio. Miles and her grad school classmate Maria Johnson hosted the first Death Café in the U.S. Participants should send an email to Fox at DeathCafeSA@yahoo.com to reserve a spot.

Guests are welcome but should also register.

For more information, call 210-369-8853 or visit www.facebook.com/sanantoniodeathcafe.

Scobee Education Center nears completion Expected charge per group is $500.

By M.J. Callahan

mcallahan7@student.alamo.edu

The 21,519-square-foot Scobee Education Center, home of the Challenger Learning Center and Scobee Planetarium, is nearing the end of construction.

The Scobee Education Center will include a gift shop, an exhibit gallery, a stained-glass mural, a memorial garden, offices, two classrooms, an observatory and restrooms. The Challenger Learning Center will consist of mission control, a debriefing room, a flight simulator transporter and a space center.

A Ranger reporter and photographer toured the site March 6 with Jennifer Becerra, lead flight director.

Before spring break, the 100 seats in the planetarium were installed, and the building began to look almost ready to welcome students.

Over the break, a contractor came in to look at what Gina Gutierrez, planetarium secretary, calls the heart of the planetarium, the Digistar, a machine that stores and projects the shows the planetarium presents from its library.

The Digistar has been in storage for two years as the building was being remodeled. “It was successfully reawakened from a two-year coma,” Bob Kelly, academic coordinator of the Scobee Planetarium, said.

The Digistar contains four computers to run the entire planetarium, he said.

Gutierrez said the planetarium contains a library of 20 shows, but the staff is

IN THEORY

Technology an overused tool

Imagine the 12 disciples Instagramming their plates from the Last Supper. Seems a bit silly, but why is it any less silly today?

We used to say “Wake up and smell the coffee.” Nowadays, it’s wake up — to an alarm on a cell phone — and check the Twitter feed.

Instead of enjoying the present, people have developed a need to text others about the experience.

Thomas Billimek, psychology and sociology Chair, said as the reliance on technology increases, the more interaction with people decreases.

“The richness of life is having contact with people,” he said. “While talking to people on the phone, you cannot see their emotions.”

Billimek suggested one way to change the 24/7 smart phone habit is to set the phone on silent or even turn it off during dinner or a movie.

“I doubt the world is going to end in an hour,” he said.

There is nothing wrong in working with technology every day; it’s the pervasive use that can cause problems, he said.

“Technology is a tool,” Billimek said. “It should be a tool that can be used and appreciated, not taken advantage of.”

Starting this fall, for highdemand classes, there will be an automatic charge for an etextbook.

Students will have access to a textbook only electronically unless they pay an extra charge to have a paper version printed.

“If you asked me to search for something, I would definitely go to the Internet to find you an answer, but it’s because the way technology has evolved,” Billimek said.

By Adrian Yancelson

Retiree releases new poetry book

By Ty-Eshia Johnson One hundred new reclining seats have been installed during renovation of the planetarium in the Scobee Education Center. Riley Stephens considering adding more.

Public shows are expected to recommence in April, but the price has not been determined. Previously, tickets were $5 for adults and $2 for Alamo Colleges ID holders and children.

The Challenger Learning Center section of the building will not open to the public until September, Becerra said.

Plans so far are for groups, not individuals, to visit the Challenger Learning Center.

The focus is elementary and junior high students.

The prices for the Challenger will be by groups of 26 to 32 people at a cost of $500 for an estimated two-hour mission. When the Challenger Center was located at Brooks City-Base, the entry fee was $450.

The main gallery will hold a miniature space museum with exhibits including equipment used in the space engineering program at Southwest Research Center.

A round window next to

the main entrance will hold a unique stained glass art piece honoring the memory of Cmd. Francis “Dick” Scobee, who passed away in the Challenger disaster in 1986, and his wife, Dr. June Scobee-Rodgers. Both were students at this college.

The Challenger Center for Space Science Education began that year. Founding chair Scobee-Rodgers worked with the families of the other six victims to create the center.

They all wanted to keep the mission of education in the STEM fields continuing the work their loved ones sacrificed their lives for.

On the first floor of the Challenger Center is a debriefing classroom for visitors called “micronauts” to learn what they will be doing before loading into the transporter. The transporter is a flight simulator that will hold TV monitors and seating to give a close simulation to what astronauts saw when

they went up into space.

Access to the simulator is through an elevator. Groups will travel through the transport simulator to the shuttle.

On the second floor, groups will exit the elevator from the transporter and enter the space station. Half of a tour group will be at mission control and the other on the space station communicating via telecast to work together to solve different missions, Becerra said.

On the second floor, visitors access the bridge connecting the Challenger Center and the observatory deck. Two meeting rooms are available here by reservation.

Becerra said the resurfaced planetarium dome looked like the lunar surface before the final coat of paint.

The Northside Independent School District has already been working to reserve spots to bring students to the Challenger Learning Center.

Robin Collett, assistant to

the president, said a scholarship is planned to assist groups and organizations that might not be able to afford the admission.

Astronomy classes at this college have not used the planetarium since construction started.

Alfred Alaniz, professor of astronomy and physics, in 2012, said he could not wait to bring his classes to the planetarium. In fact, he requested five telescope piers to be mounted on the observation deck facing the North Star. They are installed.

Alaniz’s classes were so accustomed to having the planetarium as a resource, it held a special place in his syllabus because it made stargazing possible on bad weather days.

Alaniz repeated Tuesday he can’t wait to re-enter the planetarium and use the new equipment.

Visit www.alamo.edu/ sac/challenger/.

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

A reading and book signing is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

Wednesday in the library performance area on the fourth floor of Moody Learning Center.

This college’s writing center and Voices de la Luna, a quarterly poetry and arts magazine, present retired Professor Emeritus Carol Coffee Reposa for the release of her fourth book of poetry, “Underground Musicians,” as part of the writing center’s Home Grown Reading Series. The series highlights quality education received at this college and the literary works of students and staff.

The twice nominated Texas and San Antonio poet laureate will read from selections on reflections of her time spent in Mexico, South America, Russia and parts of Western Europe.

Voices de la Luna’s next issue is April 15, and English students are encouraged to submit two poems.

Gerardo Robledo, a writing center coordinator, said “several submissions have been received.” Some could be published or students could be asked to read their work.

For more information, call 210486-1433.

Prem

6 • www.theranger.org/premiere

Resource fair, lectures wrap Women’s History

By Adriana Ruiz aruiz168@student.alamo.edu Three speakers and a resource fair remain in this college’s celebration of Women’s History Month today through March 26.

Liz Ann Aguilar, English professor and member of the Women’s History Committee, said the events are important and will touch on topics that all students can relate to.

Topics being discussed are pay equity, women in science and minorities in the workplace, which Aguilar said are all topics that impact both men and women.

“I believe it is important for our students to learn about these individuals, their successes and what they will continue to contribute not only in our local community but our national community as well,” Aguilar said.

For more information, call activities specialist Carrie Hernandez at 210-486-0125.

Friday Fair: Resource fair sponsored by San Antonio Metro Health, Mujeres Unidas, Centro De Vida and other organizations 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Fiesta Room of Loftin.

March 25 Lecture: A discussion of women’s workplace issues such as pay equity and minorities in the workplace with Dolores Bischof and Valerie Davis, program analysts with the Department of Labor, sponsored by the women’s center 9:30 a.m. in Room 120 of visual arts.

March 26 Lecture: Discussion with a Magaly Chocano, CEO of SWEB Development, a website, mobile app and social media marketing company 10 a.m-10:50 p.m. in Room 120 of visual arts.

Lecture: Discussion about women in science with Sul Ross State University biology Professor James Zech 10 a.m-10:50 a.m in Room 201 of chemistrygeology.

Weekend film series focuses on lives of living radical women

By Adriana Ruiz aruiz168@student.alamo.edu Celebrate Women’s History Month with CineMujer, Spanish for “women film,” a weekend of film screenings featuring six documentaries that portray the stories of six “radical” women today through Sunday at the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, 922 San Pedro.

Tickets are $5 for a day pass and $10 for a weekend pass.

CineMujer is one of three film series that have been repeated every year since the late 1980s, said program coordinator Itza Carbajal.

Carbajal said this year CineMujer film series “Radical Women” is the first official womanbased film series since 2010.

Angela Davis “It’s not a combination of things (films) but instead what CineMujer has stood for over the years, films by and about women,” Carbajal said.

The six films, averaging at about 71 minutes Mercedes Sosa each, follow the lives and struggles of journalist Anne Braden, Argentinian musician Mercedes Sosa, philosopher Grace Lee Boggs, Afro-German activist Audre Lorde, bilingual educator Antonia Pantoja and UCLA professor Angela Davis.

Carbajal said the films are about women who come from all walks of life, and they touch on many issues women have faced such as racism, feminism and civil rights struggles.

Carbajal added that the Esperanza group chose films that would highlight Audre Lorde and celebrate women who

are still alive and active.

“We don’t want to highlight women just because they passed away but to acknowledge their contribution while they’re still alive so that we really can appreciate them,” Carbajal said.

Carbajal said all of the films go together well because each is unique.

She said they are all really good but “Free Angela and All Political Prisoners” directed by Shola Lynch has “gotten raving awards and reviews.”

The film follows the life of then 26-year-old professor and activist Angela Davis, who was involved with the Communist Party and the Black Panthers in 1960s.

Davis ended up on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list on charges of kidnap, conspiracy and murder, of which she was later acquitted.

The film will screen at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Carbajal said “Anne Braden: Southern Patriot” directed by Anne Lewis and Mimi Pickering is another standout.

“Anne Braden is this white woman coming from privilege, but throughout the film, she is acknowledging and being outspoken about what her privilege is, not only as a white woman but as an upper-class white woman and what that means for her,” Carbajal said.

The film will screen at 7 p.m today followed by a discussion with director Anne Lewis.

Carbajal said CineMujer is not just for women.

She said it is really important to present this, especially during Women’s History Month because it’s good to see what women can accomplish.

“We are human and we are capable of so much, not just as women but as queer women and women of color, to highlight this notion of what it means to be radical,” she said.

Carbajal said they hope to draw about 150 people per day.

For more information, call 210-228Anne Braden 0201or visit www.esperanzacenter.org.

miere

March 21, 2014 • 7

Time for KSYM pledges

By Ian Colemen

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Multimedia specialist Joan Fabian’s art also hangs in the reserve collection in Room 207 of Moody. Daniel Carde

Moody displays artwork from Smithsonian exhibit

By Ansley Lewis

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

The library in Moody Learning Center has multimedia specialist Joan Fabian’s Smithsonian exhibit pieces displayed behind the checkout counter on the third floor.

Three of her works — “Going Mobile,” “I am so hungry,” and “Wow Wow” — were featured in the Smithsonian International Exhibition in 2010, part of her “Revealing Culture” show.

The mixed media pieces “Going Mobile” and “Wow Wow” are on the wall behind the checkout desk, but “I am so hungry” was sold for $1,800. Fabian said they will be on display indefinitely or until they are purchased.

“The State Organization on Arts and Disability has a Texas chapter and said the Smithsonian is going to put up this big exhibit that has to do with culture,” Fabian said. “They told me to enter and I got accepted.”

Along with culture, which plays a large role in Fabian’s work, she was interested in the motif shape in patterns and finding an animated figure within.

Fabian received a bachelor of fine arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a master of fine arts from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Fabian was part of the Fulbright Scholar Program, which awards grants to students, faculty, and scholars to continue their career fields internationally. Fabian visited Pakistan in 2000 as a Fulbright Scholar, and she believes this country has

influenced her art more than any other experience.

“We’re used to seeing the same things every day — the same thing done a certain way — but when you go into another country you’re like, ‘hey, they pick up the garbage different,’ or ‘they cut the grass using a water buffalo,’” Fabian said.

Fabian’s pieces have been on display in Moody since renovations were finished in August 2013.

“Some of the librarians enjoy my artwork, and since I had exhibited at the Moody Learning Center in the past, they appreciated looking at them,” Fabian said. “They suggested to (Dr. Alice Johnson, dean of library resources) that I hang them after the new renovations were complete.”

“Her artwork livens up my day. I enjoy having something to look at other than blank walls,” library assistant Leticia Alvarado said.

Fabian does not have any upcoming exhibits but said she is always working on new pieces.

For aspiring art students, Fabian said, “No matter what, you have to keep painting, drawing, taking pictures. You have to continue to do that all of the time.

“Perseverance. There’s going to be a lot of rejection — and it’s going to hurt — but you can’t let that get to you. You have to keep going.”

Fabian had exhibitions at the McNay Art Museum, Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum and Luminaria.

Visit her website at www.joanfabian.com.

Listeners to college radio station KSYM 90.1 FM can support the station and the community by pledging donations Monday through March 31.

James “Hot Mustard” Velten will kick off the station’s 21st annual pledge drive, and guest DJs will host in shifts afterwards.

The drive will be streamed live on ksym.org.

In spring 1994, John Onderdonk, KSYM adviser and radio-television-film professor, began the pledge drive.

The pledge drive funds necessary expenditures for the radio station. Some examples of expenditures are licensing fees; Emergency Alert System, the national public warning system; and Radio Computing Services software, which allows the station to run 24/7.

“Every piece of furniture, every computer, every piece of equipment, every microphone, everything has been purchased with pledge drive funds,” Onderdonk said.

When KSYM moved into Longwith Radio, Television and Film Building in January 2005, the space was furnished by pledge money, Onderdonk said.

Listeners can call and pledge an amount to be donated at a later date. KSYM will send a letter, a bumper sticker and an envelope to the listener. This allows them to send the envelope back with cash or check.

Donations are also accepted online by credit card at ksym. org.

KSYM will offer premiums, such as T-shirts, for a minimum donation of $35 and hats for a minimum of $45.

The T-shirts will feature logos of shows on KSYM such as “Third Coast,” “The Wave,” “Lush Life,” “The Casbah” and shows devoted to heavy metal and Beatles music, Onderdonk said.

Premiums will be available for pickup on May 3 at Fredstock 2014, a concert produced by the music business program.

The 2013 pledge drive raised $27,266.

KSYM provides public service announcements, as well as raising awareness, organizing and promoting events and acquiring donations for nonprofit organizations such as Meals on Wheels.

“We serve students of the college, but also we serve the community,” Onderdonk said.

To donate, call 210-486-5796.

Katherine Garcia contributed to this story.

SAConnected

8• March 21, 2014

TODAY SAT MON TUES WED THUR SAC Transfer: Texas A&M University-San Antonio 9 a.m.-4 p.m. in transfer center on the first floor of Chance.

Call 210-486-0864.

SAC Meeting: Students for Environmental Awareness 1 p.m. in Room 122 of Chance. Bingo available. Continues Fridays. Call 210-8789758 or visit www. smore.com/0fu9r-students-for-enviromentalawareness.

Tickets: Pre-sale tickets for Fiesta Oyster Bake April 11-12 at St. Mary’s University. $23 1-day pre-sale tickets available at Texas H-E-B stores and the Fiesta San Antonio Commission office. $35 two-day pre-sale tickets. $25 at the gate.

Free for children 12 and under. Visit www. oysterbake.com.

Event: Tales of Lost Southtown 8 p.m. at Urban 15 Group 2500 S. Presa. $15. Continues until March 30. Visit www.urban15.org.

Event: Mizuumi-Con, anime, Japanese culture and gaming convention 10 a.m. at Our Lady of the Lake, 411 S.W. 24th. $15. Call 210-434-6711 or visit www.mizuumicon.org.

Workshop: Drawing Uncensored with Charcoal. “The Full Monty: Male Nudes from the Collection” 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Draw live models using different media.

Register online at www. mcnayar t.ticketleap. com. Space limited, $20 nonmembers and $5 members. Call 210824-5368.

SUN Exhibit: Fabric of Survival 2 p.m.-6 p.m. at the Barshop Jewish Community Center, 12500 N.W. Military.

Continues until April 6. Call 210-3026820.

SAC Event: Oxfam Hunger Banquet by student life 9:30 a.m.10:30 a.m. in the Fiesta Room in Loftin.

Call 210-486-0125.

SAC Event: Dixieland Music and Mardi Gras Celebration by student life 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. in the Fiesta Room of Loftin. Call 210-4860125.

SAC Meeting: SACNAS 1:30 p.m.2:30 p.m. in MESA Center in Room 204 of Chance. Email Hunter Hodge at 23fission@ gmail.com.

Event: Small World Jazz 7:30 p.m.10:30 p.m. at Olmos Pharmacy, 3902 McCullough. Continues Mondays. Visit www. olmosrx.com.

Event: The Walking Dead “Us” viewing and trivia 8 p.m. at the Brooklynite, 516 Brooklyn. Call 210444-0707.

SAC Transfer: UTSA 9 a.m.-11 a.m. in Loftin, noon-6 p.m. in transfer center. Call 210-4860864.

SAC Transfer: Texas State University noon-6 p.m. in transfer center.

Call 210-486-0864.

ACCD Meeting: Regular meeting of the board of trustees 6 p.m. in Room 101 of Killen Center, 201 W. Sheridan. Visit www. alamo.edu/district/ board.

Games: Informal chess for all ages and all levels of play 6 p.m.-7:45 p.m. at San Pedro Branch Library, 1315 San Pedro Ave. Continues Tuesdays.

Call 210-207-9050.

Event: Sketching in the Galleries 6 p.m.-8 p.m. in the great hall at San Antonio Museum of Art. $10 nonmembers.

Call 210-978-8100.

Event: Meet author Rita Urquijo-Ruiz 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at San Antonio Central Public Library, 600 Soledad.

Call 210-207-2500.

SAC Transfer: Our Lady of the Lake University 9 a.m.-noon in foyer of chemistry and geology, 10 a.m-2 p.m. on first floor of Chance. Call 210-4860864.

PAC Event: Spring blood drive 9:30 a.m.3 p.m. in the student center annex. Must be 17 years old and at least 110 pounds. Call 210-486-3000.

SAC Event: Pizza with the President noon1:30 p.m. in the Fiesta Room in Loftin.

SAC Event: Glowin-the-Dark 3-on-3 basketball tournament

by Kinesiology Club 2:30 p.m. in Gym 2 of Candler. Call 210-4861023.

Event: Longhorn Fiesta medal unveiling 6 p.m. at University Coop Alamo Quarry Market, 255. E. Basse.

Call 210-824-3293.

SAC Transfer: Texas A&M University-San Antonio 9 a.m.-4 p.m. in transfer center, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. in mall.

Call 210-486-0864.

SAC Event: Chick Flicks 1 p.m. Methodist Student Center, 102 Belknap. Continues Thursdays. Call 210733-1441 or visit www. saumcm.org.

SAC Clubs: President’s Roundtable 2 p.m. on second floor of Loftin. Call 210-4860125.

Ceremony: Naturalization 2 p.m.-4 p.m. at Institute of Texan Cultures, 801 E. Chavez.

Call 210-458-2300 or visit www.texancultures. com.

SAC Transfer: St. Mary’s University 4 p.m.-6 p.m. on first floor of Chance. Call 210-486-0864.

Film: “Rear Window”

by Alfred Hitchcock 6:30 p.m. at McNay Art Museum, 6000 N. New Braunfels. Wine reception before film. Call 210-805-1767.

www.theranger.org/calendar

FRI

UPCOMING

SAC Transfer: Troy University 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on first floor of Chance. Call 210-4860864.

March 29

Concert: Las Jaraneras and el Fandango Pa’ Todos by Esperanza Center at 7 p.m. $5.

Call 210-228-0201 or visit www.esperanzacenter.org.

Event: H-E-B Big League Weekend with the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros 7:05 p.m. and another game Saturday 1:05 p.m. at the Alamodome. Tickets $10-$110. Purchase tickets at www.bigleagueweekend. com.

Event: San Antonio Nationals Nitro Jam 7:30 p.m. at San Antonio Raceway 3641 S. Santa Clara. Continues Saturday at 6 p.m. Gates open at 2 p.m. both days. Friday adult $15, Saturday adult $25. Child $10 both days. Visit www.nitrojam.com.

Meet representatives of 55 departments and two universities.

By Marina Garcia

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

The University of Texas at San Antonio is your first choice for a top tier education. UTSA provides you a world of ideas, diversity and culture with more than 140 undergraduate and graduate degree options.

Transferring to UTSA is easy. Go to applytexas.org and apply now.

Deadline: May 1st - Summer Learn more at

utsa.edu/transfer

SCHOLARSHIP

DEADLINES

March 30 Event: Síclovía by the YMCA 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at the intersection of S. St. Mary’s and E. Cesar E. Chavez and end at E. Mitchell and Mission.

Visit www.ymcasatx.org/siclovia.

March 31 SAC Forum: Conversations in Civic Responsibility 9:30 a.m.-10:45 a.m. in Room 150 of Loftin. Call 210-486-0127 or twitter. com/SACCivEng. April 1 SAC Transfer: Texas A&M University-San Antonio 9 a.m.-noon in mall, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. in transfer center. Call 210-486-0864.

April 2 NLC Film: Spring series “Mary Poppins” 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m. in performing arts.

Discussion following. Call 210-486-5312 or visit www.alamo.edu/event.

SAC Performance: “Night Before Nationals” by speech team 7 p.m. in McCreless theater.

Admission $5. Call 210-486-0494.

April 3

Meet the majors, choose a career

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO

Event: Spring picnic by Green Spaces Alliance of South Texas 3 p.m.-6 p.m. at 7 Willow Way. Nonmembers $35, members $25.

Call 210-222-8430.

Students looking for potential careers or still undecided on a college major have an opportunity to meet department representatives at Meet the Majors.

The event, 9 a.m.-noon Thursday in the Fiesta Room of Loftin Student Center, will host more than 55 departments along with two universities, Texas A&M-San Antonio and Texas State.

Students can meet with advisers and get answers to questions that can help in choosing a career or a degree plan.

Every student ought “Every stuto be interviewing dent ought the faculty to be interrepresentative from viewing the their department. faculty repreJim Lucchelli, sentative from career services coordinator their department,” Dr. Jim Lucchelli, career services coordinator, said. “I think it’s a golden opportunity.”

“I’m trying to help students be efficient and be successful,” he said. “Students should talk to someone about their career and understand what it means.”

Lucchelli encourages students to visit departments of fields they are interested in studying or working in.

“This will be the only time all these departments will be together in the same area for a significant period of time where students are invited to come and talk to them,” Lucchelli said.

For more information, call 210-486-0152.

’’

SAC Transfer: Our Lady of the Lake University 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in transfer center.

Call 210-486-0864.

ACCD Forum: Lunch and learn series by academic adviser Betty L. Harkins, noon-1 p.m. in Room 134 of Alamo University Center.

Call 210-654-0954.

SAC Transfer: Texas State University noon-4 p.m. in transfer center. Call 210-486-0864.

April 4 SAC Film: “The Nut Job” by student life 7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. in mall. Free for SAC students and $1 for public. Call 210-486-0126.

April 5 Event: SicloVerde by Green Spaces Alliance of South Texas 7:30 a.m. at Eastside Sprouts Community Garden, 1023 N. Pine. $25 registration.

Event: Fiesta Especial 5K run and parade 8 a.m. Windcrest City Hall. $25 to run 5K, $20 for 1-mile walk. Call 210-656-6674.

Event: San Antonio Book Festival 10 a.m.-5 p.m. in Central Library and Southwest School of Art. Call 210-224-1848 or visit www. swschool.org.

Festival: Best of the West! 4 p.m.-11 p.m. at Our Lady of the Lake University, 411 S.W. 24th. $5 for adults and free for children 12 and under. Visit www.fiesta-sa.org or call 210431-3985.

!

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

Pulse GYM SHORTS NVC defeats UIW 78-72

www.theranger.org/pulse

Final Scores

Women’s game forfeited to Lady Wildcats because of schedule conflicts.

Wednesday Men’s basketball Northwest Vista 78 Incarnate Word 72

By R.T. Gonzalez

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Upcoming games

The University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals were able to keep pace Wednesday night, but they couldn’t combat the ability of the Northwest Vista College Wildcats to dominate inside the paint.

The Wildcats secured a 78-72 victory in Huisache Hall.

The Wildcats tried to take control of the game early with 3-point shooting but didn’t find much success from beyond the arc.

Liberal arts freshman Desmond Hines took over late in the first half by running the ball to the basket instead of shooting from outside.

Hines dominated the paint, scoring 13 points in the first half.

Hines finished with 27 points.

The Cardinals kept the game close as they

Men’s basketball Wednesday San Antonio at St. Philip’s, 8 p.m. health and fitness center.

Victoria at Incarnate Word, 8 p.m. McDermott Convocation Center.

Northeast Lakeview at Southwest Texas, 8 p.m. La Forge gym.

Women’s basketball Wednesday San Antonio at St. Philip’s, 6 p.m. health and fitness center.

Victoria at Incarnate Word, 6 p.m. McDermott Convocation Center.

March 21, 2014 • 9

looked to kinesiology sophomore Josh Benitez for points. Benitez kept close behind Hines in the first half, scoring 12 points and finishing with 22 points.

The game remained close at the halfway point with Northwest Vista leading 40-37.

In the first 15 minutes of the second half, both teams battled and traded leads three times.

In the closing minute, Incarnate Word was down 71-69 with a chance to win the game.

The Cardinals turned to Benitez for the final shot, but with time dwindling, Benitez’s shot was off the mark, and the Wildcats held on to win 78-72.

UIW’s women’s team did not play Wednesday’s scheduled game because of players’ conflicting schedules.

The Lady Wildcats won by forfeit.

Liberal arts freshman Desmond Hines soars for the dunk past Cardinals guard Josh Benitez Wednesday.

David Guel

Learn to enjoy a longer life at Health and Wellness Expo More than 50 exhibitors will be in Candler gyms April 12 to promote healthy living.

By J’son Tillmon

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Students, faculty and staff can learn how to live healthier at the Health and Wellness Expo 9 a.m-1 p.m. April 2 in Gyms 1 and 2 of Candler Physical Education Center.

This event is free and will be open to the community.

“We’ve been told by many exhibitors we put on one of the biggest health fairs in San Antonio, if not in South Texas,” said wellness

coordinator Chris Dillon, who teaches kinesiology courses at this college.

This event has taken place at this college for about 30 years, he said.

This year, the American Heart Association is teaming up with the event because National Walking Day is the same day. The association will lead walking groups to promote overall heart health, said Dillon, who is on the planning committee for the San Antonio chapter.

Mayor Julian Castro started the Mayor’s Fitness Council in May 2010 with the mission to make this city one of the healthiest and most active communities in the nation. The council is expected endorse this event, he said.

There will be fitness demonstrations throughout the event from kinesiology classes, such as cardio kickboxing, tai chi, and selfdefense. The Kinesiology Club will bring back the dunking booth where students can attempt to dunk kinesiology instructors. The event will raffle a road bike donated by the office of student life.

From a wide array of exhibitors, people can get services that range from glucose testing to a massage. Blast Fitness will do exercise prescriptions and talk about various workouts. They will also do body mass index and body fat testing.

The South Texas Blood and Tissue will collect blood donations and get people to sign up

for a bone marrow and organ donor registry.

For bone marrow donations, “doctors choose registry members between 18 and 44 more than 90 percent of the time,” according to Bethematch.org, the bone marrow registry website.

“You may save up to eight lives through organ donation and enhance many others through tissue donation,” according to the Organdonor.gov website.

“We’re trying to increase health and wellness across the campus and the district,” Dillon said.

For more information, call Dillon at 210486-1025.

Community discusses marijuana at town hall meeting Health care researcher explains what marijuana addiction looks like.

By Cassandra M. Rodriguez crodriguez@student.alamo.edu

A town hall meeting of outspoken community members discussed Texas legalizing marijuana March 6 at Texas A&M University San Antonio.

The meeting left standing room only in the auditorium at the college’s Brooks City-Base location and filled two additional rooms with people watching a live feed.

Four panelists, two pro-legalization and two anti-legalization, answered questions.

Pro-legalization panelists were Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, and William Holcomb Jr., drug addiction psychiatrist.

Anti-legalization panelists were Jennifer Sharpe Potter, assistant dean for research and student programs at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and Robert Ashford, president of Eagle Peer Recovery at the University of North Texas.

“This meeting is about you.

We want to know what’s on your mind,” moderator Mark Hyman said. “It’s really about getting questions asked and answered.”

“Keep it a peaceful and smart discussion about this topic. It’s an important topic for the community and state,” said Mandi Mendoza,

Robert Ashford, president of Eagle Peer Recovery at the University of North Texas; drug addiction psychiatrist William Holcomb Jr. and Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, raise their hands to indicate they are Texans at a town hall meeting on marijuana legalization March 6. Daniel Carde WOAI assistant news director.

Hyman began by asking the crowd to applaud if they believed the war on drugs has failed. The crowd responded with a thunderous applause. Hyman shared a question from the audience asking what addiction looks like?

“There is a physical dependence,” Potter said. “It will interfere with social and occupational functioning.”

Kampia said the Marijuana Policy Project plans for future legalization so it can be used for medical and recreational purposes.

Potter said, as a health care researcher, if someone is developing a problem, there will be unintended consequences and some people will have difficulty stopping.

Ashford added there is currently not enough support to help young adults who become addicted.

If marijuana is legalized, Potter said she hopes that revenue from taxes is set aside to help people who become addicted.

“We shouldn’t punish or incarcerate those people and they won’t seek help because it’s illegal,” Holcomb said.

Potter said, if there is a benefit to using marijuana it should be understood and distributed safely.

“You can’t silence News 4 viewers,” said Emily Baucum, the town hall meeting’s social media reporter. She followed live Facebook and Twitter feeds from viewers who were unable to attend the meeting.

Viewers were curious to know if any-

one has ever died from marijuana.

“No one has ever died from marijuana and it’s so much safer than alternatives such as Xanax,” Holcomb said responding to concerns from the audience about relieving pain with marijuana for medical reasons.

“What is the big deal about legalizing marijuana when alcohol and tobacco kill people?” community member Deedee Dukes asked the panel.

“I would like to see it regulated like alcohol and tobacco,” Holcomb said.

Kampia said, “It’s true that marijuana is safer than alcohol.”

Nick Lerma, community member and former Marine, asked, “What is being done to differ between medical and recreational usage?”

“We don’t know enough about marijuana. There needs to be more research for understanding it and treatment for those who develop problems,” Potter said.

The 90-minute meeting limited the amount of time and people who could ask questions and voice opinions. The majority of the engaged audience thought marijuana should be legalized for medical purposes while others questioned the effects of legalized marijuana.

View complete footage of the marijuana meeting at www.news4sanantonio.com and search marijuana. For more information on the Marijuana Policy Project visit www. mpp.org/states/texas/.

Eric Martinez, radio-television-broadcasting freshman, smokes a coffee-flavored electronic cigarette. File

Campus smoke-free No vaping, smoking or tobacco use is allowed.

By Neven Jones

njones@student.alamo.edu

Smoking e-cigarettes, vapor, cigarettes or using any tobacco products is not allowed on campus, Dr. Robert Vela, vice president for student and academic success, said.

The smoking policy was updated during a board of trustees meeting Feb. 18 to include vapor and e-cigarettes, Vela said.

Vapor and e-cigarettes were not allowed on campus before the policy was updated, he said.

The board updated the policy to make it clear smoking will not be tolerated or allowed, Vela said.

Vapors have chemical compounds that can harm others if inhaled, he said.

The fine for smoking on campus is $16. If gone unpaid, the fine can climb to $27, Joe Pabon, deputy chief of the district police department, said.

10 • March 21, 2014

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.org

the

ranger

Editorial

Editor Mandy Derfler Managing Editor Katherine Garcia News Editor Cassandra Rodriguez Premiere Editor Adriana Ruiz Opinion Editor Bleah B. Patterson Social Media Editor T.L. Hupfer Web Editor Carlos Ferrand Web News Editor Neven Jones Staff Writers Manuel Bautista-Macias, Brandon Borrego, Brenda Carielo, Ian Coleman, Maria Duran, Mandi Flores, John D. French, Marina Garcia, R.T. Gonzalez, Ty-Eshia Johnson, Ansley Lewis, Pam Paz, Juan A. Rodriguez, Marie Sullins, J’son Tillmon, Adrian Yancelson Photographers Daniel Carde, Belinda Hernandez, Riley Stephens Photo Team David Guel, Siobhan O’Donnell, Melissa Perreault, Paula Christine Schuler, Addison Simmons, Catharine Trevino, Eric M. Valdez, Roberto Villarreal Video Team Daniel Arguelles, Robbin Cresswell, Steven C. Price Illustrators Alexandra Nelipa, Franchesca Ruiz Production Assistant M.J. Callahan Advertising Manager Patricia McGlamory Alexandra Nelipa

©2014 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.

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METAMEDIA

Staying in the loop As news unfolds, viewers and readers may wonder why media choose to report before having all the facts. Seen coverage of Malaysian flight MH370?

Even more frustrating, it seems media too often have to correct previous reporting or report new information contradicting earlier reporting.

It all gets a little redundant, and sometimes it begins to sound like a broken record. The key, however, is realizing it is the media’s job to keep the public updated.

Would you rather know everything once a news event is over? Or would you rather know everything the media knows as they know it?

Certain issues are constantly evolving and constantly changing — and the way the media respond affects the way the public responds.

News isn’t stagnant, like a bucket of water left to sit and smell; it’s more like a river. It’s constantly moving.

It’s the media’s duty to the public to keep them constantly informed, even if the information isn’t complete. It’s a better method than allowing something to sit until

it’s resolved and no amount of public outcry can change it.

Recall the case of Caylee Marie Anthony, a young child who went missing in the summer of 2008. Her remains were found in December of the same year.

The media were criticized for releasing too many incomplete updates and too often needing to clarify and correct information.

During the trial of the child’s mother, Casey Anthony, who was accused of murdering Caylee, the media again were criticized for too much coverage and too many mistakes.

In that case, it was the media’s job to keep people informed, to let the public know what was going on as soon as they did.

But the media were right to let the public see how a trial unfolds.

Public scrutiny helps ensure trials are fair and justice is served.

The public is only able to be involved in a situation if they’re kept informed. The media are responsible for updating the public frequently so they can act and react accordingly.

Just stop, already!

Attempts and successes at implementing new policies — e-books; EDUC 1300, Learning Framework; and extra fees — are screwing with students’ lives and need to be stopped.

The chancellor and trustees justify these changes by saying they are trying to help students with their educational futures, assuming they know what’s best for students based on their own personal, very much in the past, experiences.

District officials are trying to push an agenda on students without significant proof this is what students want or need.

Where is the evidence that proves students want to pay extra fees, prefer e-books to textbooks or should take EDUC 1300?

Everything else has to meet a culture of evidence standard. Why doesn’t that apply to sweeping changes hastily implemented in a top-down fashion?

Trustees and administrators need to understand times and students have changed.

Students are rallying together, protesting and rejecting these initiatives. Students have opinions on their increasingly costly education.

To blatantly ignore the outcries of the people being directly affected is a clear sign of arrogance and contempt.

When a Northwest Vista student asked Chancellor Bruce Leslie about student and faculty involvement in some of the recent decisions, Leslie responded that students are not normally consulted, but faculty were heavily involved.

The follow-up question, “And what did they say?” was answered with “well, they said ‘no’.”

Bullies “use superior strength or influence to intimidate,” the dictionary definition reads.

Are these qualities we want in someone responsible for vital decision-making for students’ futures, students’ lives?

The trustees put Leslie in this position and allow him to run rampant, unchecked.

It’s time trustees did a little homework of their own instead of accepting all proposals at face value as being based on Gospel truth.

Leslie and trustees: Admit these projects are not aimed at students’ best interests. No matter what you think, the evidence says otherwise.

Fix the old before the new Renovating Scobee Planetarium and building the Challenger Center has cost nearly $5 million. For the exposure and status it will accord this college and the fact that fundraising is paying the bills, it’s not a bad investment.

Meanwhile, the roof of Chance Academic Center is under repair, but ceiling tiles fall in the middle of the night and construction dust is aggravating asthma sufferers.

Perhaps the college and district could focus on repairing older buildings that are worn.

Buildings like Gonzales and McCreless halls top the list with a history of mold and air quality issues occupants say remain unresolved.

Equipment failures — plumbing, thermostats, elevators — and under par performance — IT, clocks, lights — could use attention.

And it’s not just repairs; the whole campus, inside and out, could use a thorough scrubbing.

Housekeeping employees are not to blame.

They are already stretched unreasonably beyond their abilities. Each position vacated

through retirement or other reasons is lost so no relief is in sight.

At the same time, complaints continue about the poor performance of employees contracted to maintain a portion of campus buildings.

Maintenance employees are not to blame.

Their ranks are not growing either.

To get inside that shiny new Challenger Center for Space Science Education, the public has to walk through at least a portion of the campus.

Calls for revised funding priorities are met with the explanation that bond money can’t be spent on operations. Legal limits on spending taxpayer funds with an interest meter running is an important public safeguard.

The revisions need to be in priorities for the operations budget. Some programs, offices and departments seem to have all they need or more, while genuine student services wither away.

This district has the money; it just needs to decide to spend it on our primary mission.

Correction In the Feb. 28 issue of The Ranger, the article “Time for fall, summer advising,” should state students are allowed three sessions with a counselor.

www.theranger.org/opinion

Opinion

March 21, 2014 • 11

Not pro-Putin, but nationalism not answer

Letters

Flags and symbols of Ukrainian Nationalists are too reminiscent of Nazi collaboration past.

Listening to our students

In the wake of Crimea’s overwhelming call for rejoining Russia, criticism against radicals and nationalism bring automatic labels of being “proRussian extremists” or “pro-Putin zombies.”

Sunday’s referendum drew 83 percent of the Crimean population, and 97 percent of them voted for rejoining the Russian Federation. On Viewpoint by Tuesday, the Alexandra Russian presiNelipa dent signed a treaty making sac-ranger@ alamo.edu Crimea part of Russia again.

I don’t need to read propaganda from either side to know what is going on. Look at the photos of the protests and look for the logos on the signs. They will tell you everything you need to know.

At the beginning, I was encouraged by the spirit of “Euro-maidan” and the fight against corruption in the Ukrainian government, but soon, the Nationalists began displaying their true colors.

So after I had seen all of this, my enthusiasm turned to skepticism for the future of Ukraine. Every country has its own radicals and stupid people, and it is a shame, but in Ukraine, they become heroes without remembering what their agenda really is just because they also fighting corruption.

People have to recognize patriotism and nationalism because these are two different things and lead to opposite directions.

Crimea is the last major stronghold of opposition to the new political leadership in Ukraine.

The roots of the problem in Crimea go to a distant past.

The peninsula has always been multicultural. The 2001 census shows Russians make up 58.5 percent, Ukrainians 24.4 percent and Tatars 12.1 percent. For a long time, Crimea and Russia were inseparable, the reason the majority of the population of Crimea is Russian.

The Greeks came 2,000 years ago, the Karaims probably not long after, and today they live alongside Jews, Bulgars, Armenians, Germans and many others.

During the German occupation, almost all Jews were killed, and the Tatars, Armenians, Bulgarians and Greeks after the occupation where deported by Stalin.

Why all these territorial claims?

Because Crimea was always a part of Russia until in 1954 former Premier Nikita Khrushchev transferred the Crimean peninsula to the authority of the Ukrainian SSR, extracting it from Russian territory.

But this time, it was not very important because it was still part of one big country, the Soviet Union, which encompassed 15 republics.

It was like reassigning the Oklahoma panhandle to Texas authority — still the same country, ethnicity, language and culture.

The official language of Crimea was Russian, but at school, I learned Ukrainian. Teaching national languages remained in schools in other republics as well.

After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, all of the republics started screaming for independence. Ukraine was screaming more then anyone else.

Sometimes, there is nothing good about independence, especially if a country does not have a good leader. That is what happened to Ukraine; none of the leaders, starting from 1991, were good, strong leaders.

Ukraine is rich in resources, its agriculture made it a breadbasket for that part of the world, and it exports valuable minerals, wheat and meat products.

Despite that wealth, the Ukrainian economy rolled into an abyss

Editor:

because of its incompetent and corrupt leaders. New government leaders began to steal for themselves and their entourages.

This leads to the election: We had the opportunity to choose between two evils. That led to the Orange Revolution from November 2004 to January 2005.

As for me, I do not support any one party and cannot proclaim Ukraine by itself as my homeland. I was born in a country that does not exist anymore: the country where Russia and Ukraine were in a union.

There is too much hysteria about Russian solders occupying Crimea.

They are there to protect people, to avoid a new “Maidan.” They have always been there; Crimea hosts a large Russian naval base.

“Maidan,” the Ukrainian name for the public square the country’s government buildings surround, is what the February tragedy is now called.

As I know from my friends in Simferopol, it is a pretty stable situation in Crimea now. Yes, there are people in military uniform, but only near government offices. Civilians still walk anywhere they want and take pictures, even with soldiers.

I hope nothing like “Maidan” will happen there. It was a big shame and waste of human lives for nothing.

For sure, former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was not a good leader. The new temporary government that replaced him is no better. Their hero is Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian radical nationalist whose World War II followers aided the Nazis.

For years, disdained as a traitor, his name was synonymous with Nazi.

Now the Nationalists are trying to rehabilitate his reputation, claiming he never sided with the fascists.

But their symbols show a different story: a Bandera portrait began appearing, black and red flags represent a group whose website is eerily reminiscent of Nazi propaganda, and even a slightly modified swastika and insignia of Galichina SS. I have many friends who are Tatar, Ukrainian and other nationalities who live in Crimea. I do not care about nationalities at all until it comes to nationalism.

My mom is Russian; my dad is Ukrainian, and who I am?

I don’t care. Nationalism is not an appropriate organizing point, not like politics or economics.

“Maidan” started as a protest against the corruption and theft of President Yanukovych but finished as a victory for the Nationalist Party.

Ukrainians want to be admitted to the European Union and want the corruption to end, but nationalism is not likely to achieve either goal. The evolution of humanity is not to be found in the nation state, but in international cooperation. No one nation can achieve great things alone. Once Germany’s Nazis announced Aryan superiority, they paid dearly for that mistake.

Sometimes the two evils we have to choose between don’t leave us any options. There is no corruption in the whole universe that justifies rallying under these flags and symbols.

According to The Ranger, 68 percent of our students preferred a paper text to an etext, and my students were of the same opinion.

Some of my students are very computer savvy, but many others are not. For example, I used to give all of my students a paper copy of my course syllabus. They could refer to it whenever they wished. But now that we are a paperless college, they must go to the esyllabus.

Last semester, according to a poll taken at the end of my classes, only 29 percent of my students accessed the esyllabus.

I fear that a similarly small percentage of students will use the etext, which, of course, will adversely affect student outcomes.

If we are really here for our students, why do we not listen to them?

I posed that very question to the ACCD vice chancellor for academic success in an email dated Feb. 10 but have received no reply.

Thomas M. Settles, Ph.D. Professor of History

Former student voices concerns Editor’s note: This letter was sent Feb. 27 to all nine trustees. The writer said none have responded.

I graduated from the SAC nursing program in 2007, and now I am back on campus informally attending classes for my own personal enrichment. In the intervening period of time I became a magnum cum laude graduate of the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, obtaining both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing.

What I have found after a six-year absence from this campus is shocking. Many of my professors have left because of intolerable conditions here. Student services have greatly been reduced. The intramural and extramural programs that were so much fun are now gone. Work-study students are now hard to find. The tutoring programs that helped me get through my most challenging science classes have disappeared as have many programs for at-risk students.

The campus nursing staff is gone. The number of counselors has been greatly reduced and the library staff has been gutted. Likewise, full-time faculty members have been routinely replaced in favor of adjuncts.

The only area that has grown is administration, which now, according to The Ranger, consumes 34 percent of the district’s budgetary outlay. That is outrageous. Does the board understand that students do not come to college to see administrators?

I am also horrified by the caustic environment that is pervasive on this campus. Everyone is angry. Even new students who are unaware of how much better things were for their predecessors are well aware of the fact that the current administration invariably ignores them as it did recently by requiring etexts when an overwhelming percentage of students preferred a paper text.

The faculty is also routinely ignored by district administrators. It seems that committees are constituted to discuss specific issues when the administration has already decided what it is going to do regardless of the committee’s findings or recommendations.

And if the administration anticipates faculty opposition, it will circumvent the established policies and procedures and do as it pleases.

The perfect example is Dr. Bruce Leslie’s unilateral inclusion of EDUC 1300 in the core, contrary to the wishes of the ACCD faculties. All of the aforementioned has resulted in increased anger and frustration, which, in turn, precludes effective teaching and learning.

None of this turmoil existed at the UTHSCSA. Our administrators worked tirelessly to support both faculty and students.

Everybody respected everyone else, and we all worked together in a happy, collaborative learning environment. That is the way college should be. It is what taxpayers expect, and it is what students deserve.

I am writing this letter because I love San Antonio College. My dad went to school here in the past and I had hoped to send my daughter, who will graduate from Incarnate Word High School in May, to school here in the future. But given that which I unfortunately now find on this campus, we will be looking elsewhere.

Sincerely, Deborah Ann Guerra, M.S.N.

Feature

12 • March 21, 2014

Speech pathology sophomore and Spanish sophomore Jose Salinas row a canoe on the Rio Grande River in Big Bend National Park during spring break.

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Monica Guerrero, senior specialist at Northwest Vista College, pumps water for liberal arts sophomore Tony Martinez to wash his hands.

Canoeing the canyon Photos and story by Riley Stephens rstephens20@student.alamo.edu

Twenty-six students and three advisers spent spring break canoeing the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park.

The 13 students from Northwest Vista and 13 from this college and three advisers had expected to navigate the river in rafts, but upon arrival learned they were going to canoe 21 miles of the Rio Grande River in two-person canoes.

Students paired up and quickly learned the value of teamwork. After breakfast, the adventurers launched at about 10 a.m., broke for lunch mid-day

and then made camp about 5 p.m. River guides from Far Flung Adventures prepared dinners of filet mignon, fish and fresh vegetables.

At the end of the day, the canoers were tired, but any sore muscles were secondary to a sense of pride in their accomplishment.

The total cost for Far Flung Adventures was $6,150 and $2,250 to charter a bus.

Funds came from a $150 fee charged to each student and student life budgets.

One night’s dinner of filet mignon with potato, green salad and green bean casserole

Lead river guide Patrick Harris of Far Flung Adventures instructs the group on the correct use of an oar when rowing two-person canoes. Students selected partners for the 21-mile trip through the canyons on the border between Texas and Mexico.

Above: Counseling sophomore Lyann Avila and biology sophomore Izabellah Roman pause to take photos of roaming horses.

Left: After a day of rowing six miles, the canoes aligned on the embankment and tents were erected on the grass under the cliffs.

Students gathered around a campfire to share their experiences on the day’s canoe trip. The river guides from Far Flung Adventures provided a fire-resistant pad and a grill with matches. Marshmallows and chocolate cookies were available for s’mores, but those who wanted their marshmallows cooked had to find their own sticks.

Business management sophomore Megan Sosa raises an oar and cheers at the end of the 21-mile trip.