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Volume 88 Issue 17 • April 4, 2014

210-486-1773 • Single copies free

PENNY WISE April 15 tax deadline fast approaching

Ruben Dario Flores 1939-2014

For some, filing taxes is tricky.

Accounting sophomore Sonia Delarosa said the biggest mistake students make when filing taxes is not disclosing that their parents have claimed them as dependents.

Delarosa is one of many tax volunteers at St. Philip’s College’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, which has provided free income tax services for 22 years to community members and families who earn up to $60,000 per year.

Parents who provide more than 50 percent of financial support for at least six months of the year can claim the student. Students who file independently and are claimed by their parents must disclose this or risk their return being rejected by the Internal Revenue Service.

The key to maximizing refunds is keeping an expense log and receipts for any education-related expenses not covered by financial aid, she said.

Accounting Adjunct Kenneth Bankston has been the site leader for VITA for 14 years. He said traffic has picked up in the last week.

“There’s always those last-minute stragglers,” he said.

Last year, VITA processed $7.3 million in refunds for more than 3,500 local clients, according to the group’s web page on the St Philip’s site at http://alamo.edu.

On April 1 in Room 110 of Bowden Building at SPC, Delarosa and other student volunteers assisted five families while another family waited.

Retired Army and St. Philip’s alumnus Alfred “Al” Trigg is another VITA volunteer. “It’s easy, quick and most important, it’s free for students,” he said.

While VITA is a free service for students and the community, some prefer to use tax preparation services, such as H&R Block and TurboTax. Regardless of what service students choose to use, they must file by the deadline April 15.

Students who filled out a FAFSA before filing taxes and checked the “to fill out taxes” box can turn in to the financial aid office their parents’ and personal tax receipt from the IRS. For more information about deadlines, call the financial aid office at 210-486-9282.

Search student and higher education at www.IRS.gov for information about education credits, deductions and student aid.

Pam Paz

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18 courses to use e-books only

From migrant worker to dean

VITA offers free tax return preparation.

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Read the story online.

English course selection does not have e-book version.

By Cassandra Rodriguez

crodriguez719@student.alamo.edu

When fall registration begins April 21, students will notice an extra charge on the bill for several core classes.

This charge is the cost of the e-book for the course, as part of an instructional materials strategy, which requires students to pay for textbooks at the time of registration. It was approved at the Jan. 21 board meeting.

Eighteen courses across the district have been selected to be part of the e-book implementation beginning fall 2014.

For ENGL 2322, British Literature, which is on the list, the department has agreed to continue using Norton Anthology, although, e-book won’t be ready until spring 2016.

English Chair Mike Burton said the book has a lot of material, it’s one of the most popular texts for British Literature and this college has been using it for the 30 years he has worked here.

“There is not an e-book for this course,” Burton said, adding that three of the colleges in the district have also selected this text. “It is very difficult to have an e-book for this book because it’s more expensive to clear the copyrights due to piracy risks.”

For three math courses, MATH 1314, College Algebra, MATH 1414, College Algebra, Precal Track, and MATH 1442, Elementary Statistical Methods, math Chair Said Fariabi said the e-book is not a conflict with professors or students.

“Most faculty are using technology anyway,” Fariabi said.

He said faculty have used online learning resources, such as MyMathLab and Connect, for more than five years. “It’s not just an e-book. The technology we are using is a platform students can use to learn,” he said.

See COURSES, Page 4

Fine arts sophomore Erin Johnson works Monday at Koehler carriage house on her project, a pea pod, for her Ceramics 2 class. She cooled the piece in a water bath after it was fired using the Raku process, a 16th-century Japanese technique. Paula Christine Schuler

ACCT 2301, Principles of Accounting 1- Financial ACCT 2302, Principles of Accounting 2- Managerial ARTS 1301, Art Appreciation

Committee plans EDUC 1300 SLOs

BIOL 2401 Human Anatomy and Physiology 1

Online: “Process for Educ 1300 decisions remains mystery.”

ENGL 2322, British Lit. Spring 2016

By Bleah B. Patterson

bpatterson13@student.alamo.edu

Some faculty involved in Friday’s Learning Framework and Student Development committee meeting wonder how EDUC 1300 will be completed in time for the April 21 start of fall registration, and it looks as if students may be registering for a class that is barely in the planning stages.

“We know we’ll offer the class, so we can put it on the schedule,” Jo-Carol Fabianke, vice chancellor of academic success, said in a phone interview Monday. “The curriculum decisions and training just need to be done by the beginning of the fall semester.”

The March 28 meeting to discuss details of EDUC 1300, Learning Framework, ran from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. in the president’s conference room here. It was closed to the public.

The course, to be implemented in fall 2014 replacing one humanities requirement in the core curriculum, has been in the spotlight as faculty have protested the decision-making process and students protested losing a humanities credit being forced to take a student development course embedded with materials from Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”

Each of the five colleges is working on reports in response to a request from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges,

the region’s accrediting agency.

In light of the controversy, Michael Johnson, SACS/ COC senior vice president, has launched an investigation of the process. Should the investigation show there wasn’t enough faculty involvement, each of the institutions would be in violation of the accreditation agency’s code and could affect accreditation.

St. Philip’s College is approaching reaffirmation in 2015, and this college is preparing for 2016 reaccreditation.

Twenty-two employees representing the five Alamo Colleges were invited to participate in the meeting, including Dr. Robert Vela, vice president of student and academic success at this college; and Northwest Vista College’s Jimmie Bruce, vice pres-

See LEARNING, Page 4

GOVT 2305, Federal Government GOVT 2306, Texas Government SOCI 1301, Introductory Sociology HIST 1301, United States History 1 MATH 1314, College Algebra MATH 1414, College Algebra, Precal Track MATH 1442 Elementary Statistical Methods PHIL 1301, Introduction to Philosophy PSYC 2301, General Psychology PSYC 2314 Lifespan Growth and Development SPAN 1411, Elementary Spanish 1 SPAN 1412, Elementary Spanish 2 SPAN 2311, Intermediate Spanish 1 SPCH 1311, Intro to Speech Communication

2 • April 4, 2014

People

www.theranger.org/people

Fumes

Biology sophomores Sayuri Garcia and Dolores Garcia observe 1M thiocatemide and 1M ammonium acetate while conducting a qualitative analysis experiment during CHEM 1412, General Chemistry 2, lab Wednesday in chemistry and geology. A hot plate was used to boil deionized water so they could control the temperature of the chemicals inside the test tubes. Garcia said she enjoys seeing what she learned in lecture. Both students said Chemistry 2 is an interesting class. Daniel Carde

Fiesta medal

Student activities specialist Carrie Hernandez talks about the student life Fiesta medal and this college’s involvement in the Fiesta Flambeau parade March 27 in Loftin. Students will dance and dress like the Jetsons with battery-operated lights on their outfits. The Flambeau parade is 7:15 p.m.-11 p.m. April 26. Addison Simmons

Disarmed Kinesiology sophomore Joey Palomo attempts to take a wooden gun from biolCarrots, anyone? Architecture sophomore Claudia Zuniga, psychology sophomore Anna Garcia, and history sophomore Alma Aguilar stack bags of carrots for the San Antonio Food Bank distribution to students, faculty and staff of this college Wednesday in Lot 1. Phi Theta Kappa members and volunteers helped employees prepare packages to give out, including carrots, broccoli, salsa, Pop Tarts, coffee creamer, assorted meats and eggs. Belinda Hernandez

Fire art

Carlos Flores, artist and senior specialist of student success, dries wet paint with fire Wednesday in the mall. Nursing freshman Lyserica Ortiz, at far right, paid $40 for a painting. Flores graduated from this college in 2005. Daniel Carde

ogy sophomore Lewis Gonzales Wednesday at the Health and Wellness Expo. Gonzales gave tips on defusing a situation with a gunman. Read the story online. Addison Simmons

News

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April 4, 2014 • 3

Domestic violence survivor shares experience, encourages awareness Survivor shoots ex-husband in self-defense to flee abusive relationship.

By Ansley Lewis

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Victims of abuse often have to be pushed into seeking help, a survivor said Monday in a program sponsored by the Center for Civic Engagement in the health promotions office.

The abuse survivor was Rosalinda Zapata, administrative assistant in UT Outreach, which provides college readiness services to students at the University of Texas at Austin.

She told an audience of 12 she endured two abusive marriages until her supervisor urged her to get out of the second relationship. The supervisor later became her third husband.

She spoke along with Sister Patricia Connolly, a licensed professional counselor.

Zapata said she married too young to escape a broken home.

“I grew up too fast. By the time I was 15, instead of having your normal quinceañera that most girls have, I was

actually getting married,” Zapata said.

“I think that was my way of removing myself from the household.”

Zapata said her father was always drunk and her mom was never home, but she never saw physical abuse until her first marriage.

“I thought getting married was the answer to everything,” Zapata said. “I thought I was going to be a little princess and get taken out of the home and live this perfect life. Well, I didn’t.”

Zapata got pregnant and was forced to drop out of school to take care of her child.

“Here I was — a 15-year-old with a child — and no education. I had a husband that would come home and hit me and do whatever he wanted, and I had no way of defending myself,” Zapata said.

Zapata managed to get out of one abusive relationship and became involved in another.

“His abuse was even more severe than the first because the first abuse wasn’t really physical abuse — it was more mental and emotional,” she said.

Zapata said she kept thinking,

“Either I’m going to kill him, or he’s going to kill me.”

It was not until Zapata shot him in the leg in self-defense that she was able to escape the abusive relationship. Zapata said she was still taken into custody by police and questioned but was not charged with a crime.

Zapata said it was very difficult to live through the ordeal, and it has taken her years to not cry when telling her story.

Zapata is currently to the man who first asked her to seek help for her abusive relationship.

“We’ve been married for 18 years, and these have been the best years of my life,” Zapata said.

In June, Zapata will receive a master’s degree in information technology from the University of Phoenix, and she gives advice at women’s shelters on how to escape abusive relationships.

Connolly works with the Daughters of Charity Services of San Antonio, which helps neighborhoods get access to basic necessities, such as medical care, social services, education and counseling, according to its website.

“Basically, I believe, we live in a very violent society,” Connolly said.

“It’s all over the place. Often in forms we don’t even think about.”

Connolly said it is important to understand the pattern of abuse and be able to recognize it in other people.

“Being an abuser is not unlike being an alcoholic,” she said, noting abusers are likely to repeat abuse when in situations that trigger that response.

Connolly said because a lot of people are too embarrassed to ask for help, she had to find new ways of informing those in need of support.

“People were too ashamed to come forward,” Connolly said. “We put signs in bathrooms — in the stalls — so that people too embarrassed could see the fliers.”

She said the public is more aware of the problem now.

Connolly said most abusers use fear as a way to control and manipulate their victims.

“I knew this woman whose husband would not let her go out with her sisters because he was afraid she would meet some guy. She couldn’t

go back to school because she might meet someone at school,” she said.

Joseph Liedecke, minister for the Catholic Student Association, asked if there was any truth to the belief women are sexually abused because of how they dress or look.

“I don’t think there is truth to that,” Zapata said. “In my personal opinion, I feel if I couldn’t wear makeup or shorts, it was his insecurities, not mine. They make you feel like you’re attracting these guys. It’s never about them.”

Connolly added, “I think when most women dress provocatively, they’re not asking to be raped. Not even a prostitute seeks to be raped.

But at the same time, it requires some sense of responsibility.”

Mary Elise Ferrer, coordinator of student success, said students involved in abusive relationships who need guidance and support are welcome to visit the health promotions office 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, or call her office at 210486-0415.

Library without books a good read

By Manuel Bautista-Macias sac-ranger@alamo.edu

With a $2.2 million budget, Bibliotech was built on the South Side of San Antonio because of the need for libraries and computer facilities in the area.

“I don’t think that we’re going to ever replace print libraries; we’re never going be able to have rare book collection in the same way…How I see it, is print and digital being side by side and filling in the gaps,” Bibliotech head librarian Ashley Eklof said.

Bibliotech has about 20,000 book titles for e-books and 800 e-reader’s, 200 of which are more interactive for children under 12 years old.

About 10 laptops and 50 iPads are available; some of the iPads are available for disabled and visualy impaired patrons.

STUDY

The database does not have a scheduled update, but it does update on a frequent basis when new book releases are made or when particular titles grow in request.

Borrower privileges at Bibliotech can be completed online at bexarbibliotech. org or in person at 3505 Pleasanton Road.

To register, patrons need to be a county resident and show proof of residency by providing a utility bill and Texas ID. Visitors to the facility vary in age, but most dominant are children and the elderly.

Children under the age of 10 years old need to be accompanied by an adult.

Ages 10-16 don’t need to be accompanied by an adult, but a parent’s signature is needed when registering.

“I would like to get more college students in,” Eklof said.

Bibliotech allows five e-books to be checked out at a time per patron for 14 days and also lends out e-readers to take home for 14 days.

Patrons checking out e-readers need to provide a Texas ID and be over the age of 16.

Bibliotech will not supply chargers, but the device will last the two-week checkout period and patrons will need to visit the facilities to renew e-books.

E-readers have a late fee of $1 a day. After 14 days, the device will be marked as lost and a charge of $150 will be billed.

Late book fees are not a problem for patrons because the book cannot be accessed after the due date.

E-books can be renewed online if the patron uses their own device, saving time for patrons.

Devices in the library like

Electronics more than games

Phone and tablet applications can help you study.

By Ian Coleman

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

College students ages 18-34 use their smartphones and tablets more than their laptops or TVs, according to MarketingCharts.com, a site that helps businesses target customers.

“On average, (students) report spending 0.8 hours with a tablet,” MarketingCharts.com reported. “And they’re spending 3.6 hours a day with their cell phones. … By contrast, they’re spending less time with computers, TVs, handheld gaming devices, and e-readers. ” Students can use this time spent on their smartphones and tablets to study for classes.

According to Chegg.com, Chegg Flashcards is an application in which students can make flashcards to study and or access pre-made flashcards.

Chegg is a company based in Santa

Clara, Calif., that creates applications for phones and tablets.

Other companies have applications for students.

Exam Countdown, developed by Goo Software, is available in the iTunes App Store. It allows students to keep track of exam and important dates with a timer.

Also, the application has access to “exam tips from examiners and other students,” according to examcountdown.com Study Checker, developed by mjsoft, is available in the Google Play Store. It is an application that tracks a student’s study and break times.

This allows a student to analyze study habits.

For more information on study apps, visit highertechdecisions.com, which has a slideshow of 10 websites it claims to help students “ace exams.”

Or students may also find other study apps on Google Play or iTunes by searching under the productivity and lifestyle categories.

computers, iPads and laptops are used in sessions from one to two hours.

Session times can be managed whether dividing them during the day or running the two hours straight.

Extra time can be added when notified in advance if patrons are working on job applications, projects or schoolwork.

“This is something great to promote to the students,” Eklof said.

Students can bring laptops to access the free Wi-Fi and also print.

The facility is equipped with two study rooms for groups of two to eight with two-hour sessions as well.

Reservation of equipment and rooms can be made online or in person on a first-come, first-served basis.

Printing black and white

LIVING

Emma Traxler uses a digital brush while playing a children’s educational game about insect anatomy as her mother Kelli Traxler looks on March 19 in the children’s playroom at Bibliotech. Daniel Arguelles cost 15 cents and 30 cents for color. Scanning and faxing is free.

Introductory sessions are 6 p.m.-7 p.m. Sundays, providing more information on what Bibliotech has to offer.

Bibliotech also offers tutoring classes with schoolwork and classes for technology beginners.

The beginner technology classes are 6 p.m.-7 p.m.

Saturdays. Classes are also provided for senior citizens and in Spanish.

Bibliotech assists in enrolling in the Affordable Care Act and tax assistance. Enrollment sessions will be all day Saturday and Monday.

The hours of operation are noon-8 p.m. Monday Friday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Call Bibliotech at 210-631-0180.

Eat fresh fruits and vegetables

By Manuel Bautista-Macias sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Fruit and vegetables have their own important rules in terms of maintaining health.

Fresh produce provides good nutrients; fruits and vegetables provide a lot of fiber, both important for appetite control.

All kinds of fruits and vegetables in all colors are recommended, registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator Vidya Sharma said.

“It’s always about the rainbow,” Sharma said.

“It’s recommended.”

On average, five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables are recommended daily. Fresh fruits are preferable to canned or fruit juices, Sharma said.

Choose juice with pulp for the fiber; juice without the pulp has a higher concentration of sugar.

There’s really no fresh produce to avoid. Just eat more leafy green and yellow-orange vegetables.

Have a small or medium baked potato with the skin on because the skin contains all the fiber, making it more healthful, Sharma said.

Being a vegetarian has advantages because it eliminates saturated fats from animal products, Sharma said.

White meat, such as baked or broiled chicken and fish, is preferable to red meat, which has been linked to a higher risk of cancer.

Being vegetarian won’t help if a diet does not contain the right mix of foods, which can compromise health, Sharma said.

Beans are a great source for protein, but consume all types of beans because they contain different proteins. Nuts are high in proteins and fiber.

The United States Department of Agriculture and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics provide a tracking system for level of physical activity and calories burned or eaten.

Local farmer markets provide fresh produce with fewer preservatives and harmful pesticides.

The farmers market also promotes locally grown products providing fresher produce.

Produce exported from other states or countries can lose nutrients from too much exposure.

Frozen vegetables are an equally good option because when the product is cut and packed it is at its highest nutritive value.

For more dietary information, visit usda.gov or eatright.org. For more on local farmer’s markets, visit sanantoniofarmersmarket.org.

News

4 • April 4, 2014

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New garage creates 224 spaces for students and faculty Playland overflow parking for college ends today.

By Adriana Ruiz

aruiz168@student.alamo.edu

More than 900 parking spaces opened in the five-floor parking garage at Main Avenue and Evergreen Street March 17, but activity has been minimal, said parking attendant Rudy Torres said Monday.

The garage is similar to the old garage in the sense that both garages have elevators, a security system and staircases, but the new garage is slightly smaller and has 936 parking spaces compared to 1,098 parking spaces in the old garage.

Torres said the new parking garage has had little activity in the mornings from students. “It’s been real dead; now it’s a little more active. There is more activity from Tobin residents.”

The garage is split into three sections: 160 spaces on the first floor for

COURSES from Page 1 Two psychology and one sociology course will required e-books next semester.

Psychology Chair Thomas Billimek said a bigger concern for faculty is the availability of Internet connection for students to access course materials.

He said some professors use the textbook as a base and build on it.

“I’ve had very few students elect for an e-book,” Billimek said, adding that he has no problem with either textbooks

retail employees, 224 spaces on the second and third floor for students and faculty, and the fourth and fifth floor have 552 spaces for Tobin Loft residents.

The first floor is for retail employees but Torres allows students to park there until the retail stores open.

Torres said although activity has been minimal, he thinks more students will park in the garage after parking at the Playland property at 2222 N. Alamo St. ends today.

Tim Rockey, dean of continuing education training workforce, said the district is looking into a public-private partnership with Playland similar to the partnership with Tobin Lofts.

Wednesday, J.R. Estrada, Alamo Tours shuttle driver, said, at the start of the semester, he chauffeured about 300 students from Playland to the campus on a busy day, but lately, that number has dropped to about 89 a day.

Estrada said he has mentioned to

or e-books.

Psychology sophomore Charlie Strange said she rented one of her psychology books online for $16 and doesn’t think the district can provide a lower price.

For accounting courses ACCT 2301, Principles of Accounting 1-Financial, and ACCT 2302, Principles of Accounting 2-Managerial, business Professor Larry Rosinbaum said the discipline teams for the five colleges have selected “Financial and Managerial Accounting”

Liberal arts freshman Chris Garza and brother George Garza, a computer science sophomore, drive out of the new garage March 27 at Main and Evergreen. Daniel Carde students that the shuttle service will be ending soon. “Some students were surprised. It’s hard for them to find parking,” Estrada said. “They disapprove of the new garage and the possible fee.”

Although not in service, both parking garages have installed kiosks, which Rockey said the district may use to collect more fees from users.

Figuring out a fee that fit everyone

because they have been trying to move to a common book across the district.

He said students only have access to the first half of the book when they take ACCT 2301 and access to the second half for ACCT 2302.

“The district can’t charge full price for half of a book,” Rosinbaum said.

He said students prefer the textbook version because they use books a lot in class, and some professors will have to adjust the way they teach if e-books are used.

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is the toughest part. “It’s proving to be challenging,” he said.

Rockey said one idea is to charge $1 every time a person leaves the garage or to charge an extra $150 a semester for parking in the garage.

Melissa Fry, nursing sophomore and Tobin Lofts resident, said she started parking in the new garage because it is closer to the apartments

LEARNING from Page 1 ident of academic success, and Debi Gaitan, vice president of student success.

Dehlia Wallis, coordinator of student development here, said student learning outcomes, or SLOs, and competencies were discussed, not instructional materials.

Each college decides on textbooks for 18 courses switching to e-books in fall as a first step to the chancellor’s end goal to standardize instructional material across the five Alamo Colleges and eventually convert to 100 percent free, open-source materials.

However, Fabianke confirmed previously that FranklinCovey Co., creator of training materials accompanying Stephen Covey’s bestselling “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” have been asked to provide instructional material unique to the district for EDUC 1300.

The course will not be part of the e-book, one-textbookper-course pilot in the fall.

“We were divided into groups,” said Wallis, who is in the Learning Framework group. Each group presented recommendations to create a rough draft of a proposal.

“We have been instructed to share the recommendations we came up with,” Wallis said.

Fabianke instructed the members to share at their discretion but no other guidelines. She facilitated the meeting and set the agenda for the committee of four administrators and 18 faculty.

She requested The Ranger not publish the courtesy draft

and the campus. She said she purchased a Tobin Loft parking permit for $150 because she was told it was necessary by the leasing department.

All students pay a $25 campus access fee with tuition, which comes with a permit or VIA bus pass.

Rockey said the Alamo Colleges parking permit allows all students to park in any of the parking area, including the two parking garages, but students who live in Tobin Lofts and would like to reserve a space in the new garage, would then pay the extra $150 for a Tobin Loft parking pass.

Residents who are not Alamo College students but wish to park in the garage can purchase a parking permit for $200 online at https:// secure.touchnet.com/C20015_ustores/ web/store_main.jsp?STOREID=26.

Parking permits and VIA passes for Alamo Colleges students can be picked up in the business office, Room 201 of Fletcher Administration Center.

she provided because she was concerned that it would be misinterpreted as a final copy.

When told Thursday The Ranger would post the proposal online, Fabianke said, “It’s not public; it’s an internal document.”

She argued that committee members were chosen because they could “handle” the committee’s work, and if a faculty member of the committee chose to, they could share the proposal with a class they “trust.”

The decision to post was based on differing definitions of “internal” and that the committee was to distribute the proposal to collect feedback.

Vela was part of a series of meetings in fall 2013 to create SLOs for EDUC 1300. “This meeting was very similar,” he said. “It was more drilled down as far as the competencies we discussed. It was a lot more work and a bit more comprehensive.”

He said there has been a steady progression since the first meeting (Sept. 5).

Vela said the group revisited the original outcomes to ensure relevancy. “We also mapped everything out — the core competencies required by the (Texas Higher Education) Coordinating Board.”

In a draft constructed during the meeting, the committee created an outline for both SDEV 0300 and EDUC 1300.

First-time college students who fail to test into collegelevel reading, writing, math, a combination or all, will be required to take both courses.

The committee outlined

competencies for SDEV that include preparing students for career exploration, financial literacy, time management, learning styles, study skills and the ability to “recognize constructive life skills and their impact on academic success.”

In the Learning Framework portion: “Students will explore, identify and develop beliefs and attitudes through the study of the psychology of learning and cognition.”

Wallis said she isn’t concerned about the courses being too similar because SDEV focuses on skills while EDUC 1300 focuses on psychological aspects of learning.

She doubted the committee will finalize the course before fall registration begins April 21. “We’ll meet again to look over the feedback we receive on April 11, so I’m hoping we’ll have everything done shortly after that.”

Philosophy Professor Amy Whitworth said the controversy surrounding the course was avoided March 28 as the main goal was to make the course as successful as possible.

“I actually feel very good about the SLOs discussion we had,” she said. “It was completely faculty-led and faculty-decided. Because of that process, I felt comfortable.”

Whitworth wanted to make clear that the work faculty did in the meeting in no way decided whether the course would continue. “We didn’t talk about the recent letters about accreditation or controversy. We decided that would be tabled for this discussion,” Whitworth said.

Learning Framework and Student Development committee members For the first draft of the Learning Framework proposal, email a committee member. All email is @ alamo.edu NLC Patsy Stelter English, pvilarreal12 Cristella Diaz math, cdiaz NVC Gary Bowling SDEV, gbowling1 Cindi Bluhm dev ed advising, cbluhm

Jeannette Jones social sciences, jjones Traina Cowan social sciences, tdiehl Jimmie Bruce, VP academic services, jbruce Debi Gaitan VP student services, dgaitan PAC Yolanda Reyna counseling, yreyna Daniel Rodriguez counseling, prodriguez1 Katherine Beaumont welcome ctr, kbeaumont

Maria Diaz advising ctr, mdiaz150 SAC Julie Engel SDEV, jengel2 Emma Mendiola dean of student affairs, cmedniola-perez Dehlia Wallis, coordinator of SDEV, dstrong2 Amy Whitworth philosophy, awhitworth Robert Vela, VP academic and student success, rvela63

SPC Sean Nighbert communications & learning, snighbert Joann Davis communications & learning, jdavis256 Stephen Glover communications & learning, sglover4 Diane Hester library & SDEV, dhester Melissa SutherlandHunt, SDEV, msutherland7

News

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April 4, 2014 • 5

Board election Today last day for e-book survey District Council will begins April 28 Student discuss results Tuesday.

One candidate withdraws from District 4.

By Katherine Garcia

kgarcia203@student.alamo.edu

One early voting site for the Alamo Colleges board election May 10 will be at this college at William R. Sinkin Eco Centro, 1802 N. Main Ave. Early voting is from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. April 28-May 2 and 8 a.m.-8 p.m. May 3 and 5-6.

Thursday is the last day to register to vote in the May 10 election, board liaison Sandra Mora said.

The board seats of Marcelo Casillas of District 4, Gary Beitzel of District 8 and James Rindfuss of District 9 are up for re-election to six-year terms.

Candidates who filed for the District 4 seat, which represents the Southwest Side of Bexar County, are Lorena “Lorraine” Pulido, public relations officer for the city of San Antonio; Albert Herrera, who listed his profession as business management; and Enedina Kikuyu, community organizer.

Student Genevieve Trinidad, who filed Feb. 28, withdrew from the election March 5. Trinidad has not responded to multiple calls from The Ranger regarding why she chose to withdraw her candidacy.

District 8 trustee Gary Beitzel, who represents the North Side, reapplied. Other candidates for his seat are Northside Independent School District teacher William Clint Kingsbery and civil engineer Steven Anthony Gonzales.

James Rindfuss, current District 9 trustee representing the Northeast Side, also is seeking re-election. Processing engineer Felix M. Grieder filed for the position as well.

Mora said the district does not plan to organize an open forum for the candidates to share views with their constituents.

Northwest Vista College is organizing an open forum for District 8 candidates 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. April 9 in the Cypress Campus Theater at the Lago Vista Lakeside Patio.

Other early voting sites include the basement of the Bexar County Justice Center, 300 Dolorosa.

For a complete list of sites, visit www.alamo.edu/uploadedFiles/District/About_Us/Trustees/pdf/ACCD-OrderCalling-Trustee-General-Election-2014-with-exhibits.pdf.

By Katherine Garcia

kgarcia203@student.alamo.edu

An email survey from Alamo Colleges District Student Council intended for the district’s 60,000 students seeking feedback on the instructional materials strategy has not yet reached its intended target.

The council, composed of student government presidents from all five colleges, decided about a month ago to develop the survey to learn students’ opinions, which then the group could relay to an Alamo Colleges board of trustees committee Tuesday, Andrew Hubbard, Student Government Association president at this college, said Thursday.

Hubbard said he did not know which of the board’s four standing committees would be the appropriate one to discuss this topic.

He said the survey was sent to students’ ACES email by Palo Alto SGA President Sandra Piñeda on Tuesday.

As of Thursday morning, however, Hubbard was the only student contacted by The Ranger who confirmed he had received the email. At least three faculty members and one staff member have received the email addressed to “ALL-STUDENTS.” A spot check of 30 students Tuesday through Thursday morning revealed none had received the email inviting them to take the survey. Hubbard said this may be because the mass emails from the district usually go out in batches.

Hubbard was not sure why or how the email went to faculty, but he is “highly against” them filling it out because the survey is meant to gauge student opinion.

Students have until today to answer 12 questions about the policy, which was

approved by the board Jan. 21 and requires students pay for textbooks when registering.

The Student District Council will present the survey at the Tuesday standing committee meetings at 5:30 p.m. in Room 101 of Killen Center in 201 W. Sheridan.

The council decided to survey all students based on student opposition, he said.

The email includes the letter Jo-Carol Fabianke, vice chancellor of student success, sent to students on March 20 regarding instructional materials; EDUC 1300, Learning Framework, and frequently asked questions about both.

The survey begins by asking, “If voting were held today, would you vote for or vote against the proposed instructional materials strategy?” Two open-ended questions ask students benefits and challenges the proposal could pose to the colleges.

The next questions ask students their current age, gender, race/ethnicity, if they’re full-time or part-time, the college they attend and if they own an electronic device for reading e-books.

An open-ended question asks students what their experience has been with using electronic devices at school.

The last two questions ask if students have Internet access outside of college, and if most of their classes taken are face-toface, online or a combination of both.

Political science Professor Kristi Woodward-Kaupert posted the survey to the SAC honors Facebook page. The survey can be accessed by visiting http://survey. alamo.edu/Survey.aspx?s=7df996f7cfe44da 2860b066a96646e73&invitationID=54622.

Hubbard said he will check the survey’s validity by calling the survey company.

For more information, call this college’s SGA office at 210-486-0133 and Palo Alto’s SGA office at 210-486-3129.

Scobee Planetarium opening delayed again

By M.J. Callahan

mcallahan7@student.alamo.edu

The middle of May is the earliest the Scobee Planetarium could reopen, academic coordinator Bob Kelley said March 25.

The planetarium has been undergoing remodeling since 2012. The new Challenger Center housed in the Scobee Education Center is expected to open Oct. 11.

Because of delays in construction, the opening dates continue to get postponed.

The planetarium was expected to reopen in December 2013, but multiple delays were documented on the planetarium’s Facebook page maintained by Kelley.

The planetarium will resume its weekly public

shows over the summer.

Kelley said friends of the planetarium on Facebook are eager for the return of the weekly shows.

Expectations were for an opening date in February and then “early spring.”

Most recently, it was reported Feb. 26 the planetarium would open in April or May. Gary Verlinden, project manager for Parsons Corp., which is working on the project, said in a construction meeting March 25 that the latest update would allow an opening in the middle of May, Kelley said.

He listed several items that have been completed.

The screen for planetarium shows was put in place Jan. 31 by Spitz, the com-

pany that manufactured it. It is designed to give the audience a full 180-degree view.

Kelley said the planetarium’s new theater seats were installed Feb. 22 and 23. They allow every seat to be the best seat in the house, he said.

Kelley said the Digistar was checked March 12, after being in storage for two years with no major damage.

The Digistar, known as the heart of the planetarium, is a digital theater system that shows a series of programs and offers a full dome video projection.

Before the planetarium can open, however, it needs an inspection of the fire alarms and restrooms, and an occupancy permit needs to be issued.

The renovated Scobee Education Center will employ work-study students from this college in a gift shop and ticket booth. Riley Stephens Tim Rockey, dean of continuing education and workforce training network, said the request for the occupancy permit will be filed for May. Ticket prices and show times are still being decided.

The Scobee Education

Center is scheduled to have two separate opening events, one for the planetarium and one for the Challenger Center.

For more information, look at www.facebook.com/ scobeeplanetarium.

54 graduates honored with May 8 reception

By Marie Sullins

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

The Distinguished Graduates Program highlights an outstanding student nominated from each college program.

Diane Cruz, acting coordinator of student success, said this year, there are 54 distinguished graduates.

This year’s reception honoring the Distinguished Graduates is 3 p.m.-4 p.m. May 8 in Koehler Cultural Center, 310 W. Ashby Place.

“We wanted to make sure that we had enough room and everybody would be comfortable where they were,” she said.

The office of student academic success facilitates the process for Distinguished Graduates, she said.

Nominations for Distinguished Graduates were submitted Jan. 17 by programs choosing to participate in the program.

This year the biography for distinguished graduates has not been

completed yet, Cruz said.

At this time there have not been any new changes discussed by the graduation committee for the program, Cruz said.

There will be a survey conducted at the end of the semester to collect feedback from Distinguished Graduates about the program.

“I think sometimes people may be reluctant to come and say ‘You know, you may want to change this,’” Cruz said.

Cruz hopes by creating an anonymous survey students will be encouraged to provide feedback for future Distinguished Graduates. “We don’t always know if we’re doing a good job,” she said.

Last year, Distinguished Graduates were required to do an original project to promote graduation and some students struggled with it, Cruz said.

This year, the project is an option instead of a requirement.

IN THEORY

Scientific literacy a necessity Basic science courses are important for everyone, adjunct says.

Mandi Flores

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Science is everywhere from drinking water, phones, to weather reports.

A big issue in San Antonio is having a safe and sufficient water supply because the area with 1.3 million people relies mainly on one water source, the Edwards Aquifer.

What is really important is “ground water and how fresh it is,” Dwight Jurena, physical geography and geology adjunct, said Tuesday.

Understanding the water issue in San Antonio requires a basic understanding of science. It is the same for other issues.

“There needs to be an increase in scientific literacy,” Jurena said.

Scientific literacy is the knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes required for scientific thinking.

Having scientific literacy helps in decision-making and the ability to describe and explain natural phenomena.

“Many students who come to apply at this college come in with limited science backgrounds,” Jurena said.

The college core curriculum requires six semester hours of science. The requirement to take a science course with a lab was dropped in 2012-13.

He encourages students to take more than the two courses required for an Associate of Arts degree because they need to understand the world around them.

When students have limited science background and want to start taking science classes “biology and geology are good starter courses, and not math-intensive” Jurena said.

The starter classes are GEOL 1303 and BIOL 1308, which are both lecture classes.

“Another class I recommend is physical geography (GEOL 1301).

This is more science-based. It includes meteorology and geology,” Jurena said.

Colleges are focusing on getting more students into science and other technical careers known as STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering and math.

The college has a grant to promote STEM, the Adelante Tejas grant, which is $5 million over a period of five years,” Dee Dixon, student success specialist, said.

The grant allows us to “recruit, retain and graduate students from underrepresented groups in science,” Dixon said.

“We partnered with Sul Ross State University because they are known for their field research,” Barbara Knotts, media services chair, said Wednesday.

According to the STEM Education Coalition website, “Only 31 percent of STEM degrees are received by women.”

There are more than 26 million STEM jobs available in the U.S. For more information, visit www.stemedcoalition.org.

Prem

6 • www.theranger.org/premiere

KSYM pledge drive raises $40,000 Donors can pick up premiums at Fredstock May 7.

By Ian Coleman

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Pledges are still being tallied, but the annual pledge drive for campus radio station KSYM 90.1 FM raised about $40,000 in pledges.

The 21st annual pledge drive ended Sunday.

Program coordinator James “Hot Mustard” Velten said the station is still accepting donations online at ksym.org.

Those who pledged may bring donations to the KSYM studio Monday through Saturday in Room 201 of Longwith Radio, Television and Film Building.

The KSYM studio hours are 7 a.m.5 p.m. Monday, 7 a.m-7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m.-5 p.m Saturday.

Premiums vary with the amount of donation. A donation of $35 gets the donor a T-shirt, $45 for a hat and $5 for a Koozie.

“We had one student who came in and donated $1,” Velten said. “Most of our listeners donate without wanting premiums.”

KSYM 90.1 FM will have a table where people can pay their pledges and pick up premiums at Fredstock, a live music event produced by the music business program noon-6 p.m.

May 3 in Lot 7 at Courtland Place and North Main Avenue.

Dallas Williams, assistant program director for KSYM, said funds from the pledge drive will go to annual expenses, such as licensing fees and the Radio Computing Service software, which allows the station to broadcast 24/7 and equipment for the station.

For information, call 210-486-1373.

Fredstock six-hour show May 3 adds beer vendor

Bicyclists and joggers at Síclovía get a treat as the route was changed to South St. Mary’s Street, Roosevelt Avenue and then to Steves

Dean influences musical genre for memorial event.

By Ian Coleman

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

The music business program’s live music show, Fredstock, will be a sixhour concert noon to 6 p.m. May 3 in Lot 7 at Courtland Place and North Main Avenue.

Fredstock Spring 2014 will feature “bluesy” bands such as Los #3 Dinners, Cryin’ D.T. Buffkin and The Bad Breath, Big E and The Wild Hares, The SA Blue Cats, and G-Man. “The dean told me she likes blues,” Donnie Meals, program coordinator of music business, said March 5 explaining this year’s lineup.

Vernell Walker, dean of professional and technical education, oversees the media communications department, which includes music business.

Meals involves all the music business classes in the event, especially MUSB 2345, Live Music and Talent Management. He said the students handle scheduling of musicians, attracting vendors and managing the event.

“The way I teach is very hands on,” Meals said. “Rather than just talking about it, we put it to practice.”

The concert is free, but merchandise and refreshments will be sold at the event.

Fredstock started in spring 2010 to honor Frederick Weiss, a radio-television-film professor who died in fall 2008 after teaching here for 23 years and creating the music business program.

“One of the things my students are doing is they’re going out and getting vendors,” Meals said.

Meals said this teaches students industry standard practices in managing the production of live events.

“All the bands were selected by students,” he said. “The bottom line is, it is a project for the class so they know how to throw one of these events.”

Campus organizations can pitch a tent free at Fredstock if they can provide all their own gear. Vendors on the other hand pay a fee to rent space.

Frederick A. Weiss died Oct. 18, 2008.

Beer will be sold for the first time at Fredstock 2014 by a private vendor.

Meals said he gained approval from Walker and President Robert Zeigler to hire the vendor. Also, he and his students had to adhere to Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission guidelines.

The funds raised from this event help support the music business program.

Campus radio station KSYM 90.1 FM will simulcast the concert and stream it on the station’s website.

“Since it’s on KSYM, which is streaming, it will be a worldwide broadcast. So it’s a good thing for both the bands and the vendors because they get all this promotion out of it,” Meals said.

Donors to the station’s annual pledge drive in March can pick up premiums during the event.

“It’s hardcore, hands-on training.

It’s performing without a net,” Meals said. “And it’s the stuff they would be doing out there in the industry.”

“It’s because of the education we offer here … we are literally changing history here with this program and making this a better music entertainment city,” Meals said.

“We get the city to know that we exist. We used to be one of the bestkept secrets in town. Now we’re just not a secret anymore.”

For more information, call Meals at 210-486-1380.

BMX rider Mark Rios rides up a half pipe launching himself into the air before twisting around to sail down the half pipe Sunday durin outside of S.A. Cycles on South St. Mary’s Street for bikers and skateboarders to show-off their tricks. Rios, S.A. Cycles BMX specialis pro with his riding but rides because he loves it. Carlos Ferrand Yoga instructor Deborah Chames leads a group through a relaxing yoga class Saturday in Concepción Park during Síclovía. In the final position, Chames instructed the group to first stretch toward the blue sky and then toward Mission Concepción behind them. Chames said yoga is a great way to balance mind, body and spirit.

Carlos Ferrand

miere

April 4, 2014 • 7

s Avenue, where most of the participants decided to make a U-turn and headed back toward downtown. Síclovía will be returning to Broadway Sept. 28. Eric M. Valdez

ng Síclovía. Ramps were set up st, said he wouldn’t mind going

No trucks, no cars,

no problem Esferas Perdidas’ marble scavenger hunt is gaining attention for art and outdoor activity.

By Carlos Ferrand

cferrand@student.alamo.edu

South St. Mary’s Street had plenty of traffic on Sunday, but the traffic consisted of bicycles, strollers, skateboards, roller skates, and even a few unicycles during Síclovía.

Síclovía is a semiannual health and wellness event focused on getting people outside and active.

More than 73,000 people were expected to attend.

The city of San Antonio closed off 2 1/2 miles of road beginning at South St. Mary’s Street and East Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard, winding through the South Side, turning onto Steves Avenue and finishing at Mission Concepción.

While people made their way down the route, there was plenty to do and see along the streets.

At St. Mary’s Street and East Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard, a stage was erected so people could follow along with an instructor doing Zumba.

Along the route, people could participate in extreme core training by lifting tractor tires, rock climbing, dancing and even hulahooping.

Folks could pull off the trail and listen to live music in the parking lot of Monterey’s restaurant and pop in for a cold brew.

In Concepción Park, yoga instructor Deborah Charnes led a group from one yoga position to another.

Charnes said it is important to not only be physically healthy, but mentally healthy.

“Yoga can help balance our mind, body and spirit,” she said.

S.A. Cycles provided some excitement with ramps and half pipes for skateboarders and bikers.

Mark Rios, S.A. Cycles BMX specialist, displayed some high-flying tricks off the half pipes.

“It’s just my thing,” Rios said about riding and doing tricks on his BMX. Further down the route, a large group gathered around the Esferas Perdidas tent to see unique handcrafted marbles.

The group has built a following on Facebook with a marble scavenger hunt.

They post photos and clues of the location of a handcrafted marble.

Artist Jake Zollie Harper II said followers on Facebook have increased from 200 to 2,100, since they started hiding marbles in January.

Much like Síclovía, the idea behind the scavenger hunt is getting people outside, Harper said.

“It’s a way to get people out to cool places in San Antonio,” he said.

“It’s cool to see families getting out.”

Harper added that it’s nice to put art into people’s hands.

Síclovía is fashioned after Cicolíva, an event that has been running more than 30 years in Bogotá, Colombia.

The next Síclovía will return to the Broadway route 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Sept. 28.

Above: YMCA instructor David Peña moves to the beat with volunteers at the body combat event at Síclovía Sunday on South St. Mary’s Street. Peña has been an instructor at the YMCA for four years teaching body combat, similar to tae bo. Eric M. Valdez Left: Joseph Gutierrez examines a large glass marble handcrafted by artists of Esferas Perdidas on Sunday during Síclovía. Esferas Perdidas hides the marbles and posts photos and clues on Facebook about the locations.

The scavenger hunt was started to get people out and get art in their hands. Gutierrez recently found a marble and said now he is hooked on finding more.

Carlos Ferrand

SAConnected

8• April 4, 2014

TODAY SAT MON TUES WED THUR Event: 12th Annual NEISD PTA Used Book Sale 10 a.m.-6 p.m. in the Blossom Athletic Center’s Littleton Gym, 12002 Jones Maltsberger. Continues Saturday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. $1 hardbacks and DVDs, 50 cent paperbacks. $15 bags can be filled to the brim on Sunday.

Call 210-748-3150.

A d v i s i n g : Reconnecting Youth: Goal Setting – Paving a Path for Your Future 6 p.m.-7 p.m. at Café College. Call 210-2074528 or visit www.cafecollege.com/upcoming-events.

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.

SAC Deadline: Graduation cap and gown pickup 9 a.m.4:30 p.m. in Room 208 of Fletcher. Must have SAC ID at pick up. Visit www.alamo.edu/sac/ graduation/commencement-info.

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.

SAC Forum: Conversations in Civic Responsibility 9:30 a.m.-10:45 a.m. in Room 150 of Loftin.

Open to the public. Call 210-486-0127 or twitter.com/SACCivEng.

Festival: Best of the West! 4 p.m.-11 p.m.

Our Lady of the Lake. $5 for adults and free for children 12 and younger. Visit www.fiesta-sa.org or call 210431-3985

SAC Club: Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. in MESA Center, Room 204 of Chance. Call 210-486-0085.

SUN

NLC Meeting: Coed 7-by-7 flag football 1:30 p.m. and 1 p.m.

Tuesday in Room 136 student commons.

Game is April 10 in the green. Call 210-4865405.

Event: 32nd annual Lowrider Festival 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at Centro Cultural Aztlan, 1800 Fredericksburg. $7 adults, children 12 and younger free. Call 210-432-1896.

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SAC Meeting: College Council 2 p.m. in Room 120 of visual arts. Call 210486-0956.

ACCD Meeting: Standing committee meetings of the board of trustees 5:30 p.m. in Room 101 of Killen Center, 201 W. Sheridan. Call 210485-0000 or visit www. alamo.edu/district/ board.

SAMA Exhibit: Fantasy portraits by curator William Keyse Rudolph 6 p.m.-6:25 p.m. San Antonio Museum of Art. Discussion of the theme of fantasy portraits in “Thomas Sully: Painted Performances.”

Admission is free. Meet at front desk. For more information, call 210978-8100.

Event: Community Engagement 6 p.m.-8 p.m.

Institute of Texan Cultures, 801 E. Chavez.

Call 210458-2300.

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uiz

NVC Event: Help Clean Up NVC! 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. at Pecan Hall North entrance.

Visit www.alamo.edu/ nvc/events.

SAC Club: Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. in MESA Center, Room 204 of Chance. Call 210-486-0342.

SAC Club: Gay, Ally and Lesbian Association 3 p.m.-4 p.m. in the employee lounge of Loftin. Call 210-201-4252.

Event: Disney On Ice: Let’s Celebrate! 7:30 p.m. at Alamodome.

Continues through April 13. Tickets available at www.disneyonice.com.

Event: Twig Teen Afternoon with SoHo Teen/Random House published authors from Texas 4 p.m.-6 p.m. at the Twig Book Shop, 306 Pearl. Free. Call 210-826-6411.

Event: Institute of Texan Cultures Hats Off to Fiesta! Exhibit continues through April 27. $8 adults; $7 seniors; $6 children aged 3-11, military and students with ID. Free for children 2 and younger, members, UTSA and Alamo Colleges students, faculty and staff with ID. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. MondaySaturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Closed Easter Sunday. Call 210-458-2300.

Event: Second Thursdays 6 p.m.-9 p.m. on grounds of McNay Art Museum, 6000 N. New Braunfels.

Call 210-834-5368 or visit www.mcnayart.org.

www.theranger.org/calendar

FRI

UPCOMING

SAC Ranger: Last print issue for spring semester. For news updates, visit theranger.org.

April 12

UTSA: Fiesta UTSA 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at UTSA Sombrilla. Free. Call 210-458-4160.

Event: Fiesta Oyster Bake by St. Mary’s Alumni Association 5 p.m.-11 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m.11 p.m. at St. Mary’s University. $25 at gate.

Visit www.oysterbake. com.

Play: “Catch Me if You Can” at 7:30 p.m. at Woodlawn Theater, 1920 Fredericksburg.

Continues every weekend through May 11.

Ticket prices from $15$23. For information, visit www.woodlawtheatre.org.

Event: Motionhouse Dance Theater 7:30 p.m. Jo Long Theatre of Carver Cultural Center, 226 N. Hackberry.

Tickets $29-$110.

Call 210-226-2891 or visit www.artssa.org/ motionhouse.

Event: Any Baby Can 10th annual Walk for Autism 8 a.m. at AT&T Center. $15 early registration through March 29. $20 late registration through April 1. Call 210-227-0170 or www.anybabycansa.org/news-events/walkfor-autism.

Event: VIVA Botanica Fiesta Celebration and Plant Sale 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the San Antonio Botanical Garden, 555 Funston. Native Plant Walk, El Rey Feo visit and children’s parade. $10 adults, $8 students, seniors, military, $7 children 3-13. Free parking. Call 210-2073250.

April 13 SAMA Lecture: Sketch to Painting by Adam Duncan Harris, Ph.D., 3 p.m.-4 p.m. at San Antonio Museum of Art auditorium. Free with admission; SAC students and employees free with ID. For more information, call 210-9788100.

April 15 ACCD Meeting: Regular meeting of the board of trustees 6 p.m. in Room 101 of Killen Center, 201 W. Sheridan. Call 210-485-0000 or visit www.alamo.edu/district/board.

April 20: Event: Fiesta Arts Fair 2014 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at Ursuline Campus, 300 Augusta. $16 weekend pass, $10 daily for adults, $5 daily for children ages 5-12. Free for children younger than 5 accompanied by adults. Call 210-2241848 or visit www.swschool.org.

April 24th

Fall schedules, course catalog available online Monday

By Marie Sullins

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Fall schedules will be published Monday at Alamo.edu, said Christa Emig, district director of curriculum coordination and transfer articulation.

E-catalogs for all five colleges also will be posted.

Emig said there have been no delays in the process and students should pick classes before the start of registration.

Fall registration starts April 21, said Joe Jacques, assistant director of student success.

Registration dates are determined by total credit hours earned.

Students attending in the fall must submit a

financial aid application by May 1.

Maymester, Summer 1, Summer 2 and eightweek summer class registration opened March 24.

Maymester classes meet May 19 to June 5; Summer 1 classes meet June 9 to July 10; eightweek summer classes meet June 9 to July 31.

Maymester application deadline is April 28 and registration ends May 1.

For Summer 1 and eight-week summer courses, the deadline is May 26; for Summer 2, June 30.

According to the district website, applications not submitted by deadline may not be processed by the start of next semester.

When registering for Maymester, Summer 1,

Summer 2, and eight week summer classes the payment deadline is April 17 if you have registered before April 17.

Registration for Maymester, Summer 1, Summer 2, and eight week summer classes after April 17 the deadlines are as follows; Students registering April 18-May 1 must pay

by May 1; May 15 is the deadline to pay if registering from May 2-15. Students registering May 16- July 17 must pay the same day.

Tuition must be paid by 5 p.m. in person or until midnight online by the deadline.

For more information, call 210-486-0354 or visit Room 122 of Moody Learning Center.

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Retired English Professor Carol Coffee Reposa, twicenominated for Texas and San Antonio poet laureate, read poetry about time in Mexico, South America, Russia and parts of Western Europe March 26 in the writing center’s Home Grown Reading Series.

This college’s writing center and Voices de la Luna, a quarterly poetry and arts magazine, celebrated the Lamar University Press release of Reposa’s fourth poetry book “Underground Musicians” in the library of Moody Learning Center.

“It’s not easy to stage a reading like this with multiple performers and get

everyone together at the same time, to get their schedules reconciled, to do the publicity, to get the word out on campus,” she said.

“I want people who read ‘Underground Musicians’ to come out of it with a feeling of being in love with life,” she said. “I hope that when they read this, they will exit the reading experience with a sense of how amazing life is, how barricaded … how rich it is … how endlessly filled just with music.”

“I strive for some kind of balance,” Reposa said before reading one from each of the four sections in the book.

Reposa said she never knows what her next poem is going is to be. The process of gathering ideas for poetry

feels similar to itching as a result of an insect bite.

“Think of it this way: Like when a bug bites you and you don’t even realize when you’re scratching it but you are because it itches … and then it quits itching and it starts itching again and you scratch it,” she said.

The reading opened with former student Elisa Nodine, English sophomore Paul Byers and Dexter Gilford, criminal justice adjunct, reading two of their original selections of poetry.

“It was nerve-racking,” Nodine said. “I kind of lost that really shaky and nervous feeling like you’re going to throw up kind of anxiety when you get in front of people.” Nodine

April 25: Event: Sarah Fox exhibition 5 p.m. Ursuline Campus, Southwest School of Art, 300 Augusta. Call 210-224-1848 or visit www. swschool.org.

April 26 Event: Fiesta Family Day 2 p.m.-4 p.m. Institute of Texan Cultures, 801 E. Chavez. Call 210458-2300 or visit www.TexanCultures.com.

May 6 ACCD Meeting: Standing committee meetings of the board of trustees 5:30 p.m. in Room 101 of Killen Center, 201 W. Sheridan.

Call 210-485-0000 or visit www.alamo.edu/ district/board.

Poet Reposa releases fourth book

By Ty-Eshia Johnson

Ceremony: Naturalization 2 p.m.-4 p.m.

Institute of Texan Cultures, 801 E. Chavez. Call 210-458-2300.

Carol Coffee Reposa reads March 26 in Moody. Siobhan O’Donnell said studying at this college helped develop her writing talent. She enjoyed reading her work without fear.

Byers said, “I was a little nervous only because it was my first time ever presenting my work to people, but I felt quite comfortable.”

Gilford said he enjoyed it immensely. “You’re always a little anxious beforehand, but at the same time I’m getting comfortable with the idea of sharing my work

with people,” he said.

Gerardo Robledo, writing center coordinator and parttime poetry submissions manager for Voices de la Luna, hopes there are more reading series at this college.

“We’ve had some amazing writers, amazing professors and amazing staff,” he said. “So I decided why not show who those people are.”

For more information, call the writing center 210486-1433.

May 10 SAC Graduation: Commencement Ceremony 10 a.m. at Freeman Coliseum, 3201 E. Houston. Doors open at 9 a.m. Students must arrive by 8 a.m. For more information, call 210-486-0200 or www.alamo.edu/sac/ graduation/commencement-info.

May 13 ACCD Trustees: Regular meeting of the board 6 p.m. in Room 101 of Killen Center, 201 W. Sheridan. Call 210-485-0000 or visit www.alamo.edu/district/board.

!

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

Pulse

www.theranger.org/pulse

April 4, 2014 • 9

GYM SHORTS Release tension in dodge ball tournament

Final Scores

Get in shape with the popular game.

Wednesday Men’s basketball St. Philip’s 105 Incarnate Word 98

By J’son Tillmon

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

Northeast Lakeview 102 Southwest Texas 49

Upcoming games Saturday Men’s basketball semifinals Victoria vs. Northeast Lakeview 6 p.m. at McDermott Center Northwest Vista vs. St. Philip’s 8 p.m. at McDermott Center Women’s basketball semifinals Northwest Vista vs. Southwest Texas 2 p.m. at McDermott Center Victoria vs. San Antonio 4 p.m. at McDermott Center Sunday Men’s basketball finals Winner of Northwest Vista and St. Philip’s vs. the winner of Victoria Northeast Lakeview at 2 p.m. at McDermott Center Thursday Women’s basketball finals Winner of Northwest Vista and Southwest Texas vs. the winner of Victoria and San Antonio noon at McDermott Center

For the first time at this college, the Kinesiology Club will have a coed dodge ball tournament at 2:30 p.m. April 16 in Gym 2 of Candler Physical Education Center.

The club is asking for two canned goods from each player as a donation on the day of the event.

Donations will go to the San Antonio Food Bank.

“We have done a can drive before with our Latin Cardio Fest, which we put on last year,” said President Jesse Guillen, kinesiology sophomore.

“The turnout for that event was great, and we actually stocked the cabinets of a local food pantry,” he added.

Members decided to have the tournament at a meeting March 5 led by Guillen in Candler.

“We were originally going to choose between putting on the glow-in-the-dark basketball game or have the dodge ball tournament, but the vote was kind of evenly split so we decided to do both,” Guillen said.

There will be two games at a time. Each team will have six players. The players will use six 7-inch rubber dodge balls.

Players will try to eliminate

everyone on the opposite team by hitting them with a thrown ball, by catching the opposite team’s ball or forcing the opposite team to step out of bounds to avoid a ball thrown.

The winning team will receive T-shirts.

Students can pick up registration forms until April 11 in Room 131A of Candler.

All players will have to sign a waiver.

The kinesiology department isn’t worried about the controversy dodge ball has created at the public school level.

“Should dodge ball be banned in school?” an article on www.timeforkids.com, reported school districts in Texas, Virginia, Maine and Massachusetts banned the game in 2001 because dodge

Batter up!

Franchesca Ruiz

Amy Behlen, Tayler Rammel and Holly Blackman wait for a home run in left field during batting practice before the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros game Saturday in the Alamodome. Blackman

ball allows stronger players to target and bully weaker players.

EagleTribune.com reported schools in Windham, N.H., have banned the game because of concerns about violence and bullying in 2013.

On www.aahperd.org, the National Association for Sport and Physical Education stated its position on dodge ball. “NASPE believes that dodge ball is not an appropriate activity for K-12 school physical education programs,” a position statement says.

“Being targeted because they are the weaker players and being hit by a thrown ball, does not help kids to develop confidence,” the statement read.

At one time, there was this reaction of people who hated dodge ball, but this new generation, they love dodge ball,” Coach Dawn Brooks said. “My boot camp classes, if they do something extremely well or we have a leftover day, they beg and plead to play dodge ball. So I always

let them,” she said.

Students will receive some health benefits participating in the dodge ball tournament.

“You’re getting anaerobic work in because you’re dodging and moving.

Agility and motor skills are being improved,” Brooks said. “Mostly, it’s just a fun activity and you’re moving your body.”

Dodge ball is popular at other colleges.

The St. Philip’s College student success newsletter in the January issue shows the college’s student life office sponsored a dodge ball tournament Jan. 22.

Palo Alto’s website, under Sports Schedule, has a dodge ball tournament scheduled May 5-8.

On the senior college level exists a National Collegiate Dodge Ball Association with 24 universities involved such as Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State.

The NCDA is a not-for-profit association of dodge ball clubs and student organizations of North American colleges and universities and acts as a governing body for collegiate dodge ball.

Students at this college can make the decision to participate in this dodge ball tournament and donate to the San Antonio Food Bank.

For more information, call Brooks at 210-486-1023.

brought her nephew, Tayler, whose favorite team, the Astros, defeated the Rangers 13-6. Plenty of home runs were hit during practice but none directly to left field. Carlos Ferrand

St. Philip’s defeats UIW 105-98 in playoffs Tiger’s Threat scores 28 points against Cardinals.

By R.T. Gonzalez

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

The St. Philip’s College Tigers offense struck a match for their fiery first win of the playoffs against the University of Incarnate Word Cardinals 105-98 Wednesday in St. Philip’s health and wellness center.

The Tigers’ accounting sophomore, Daryl Threat, came out scoring four 3-pointers within the first

seven minutes, beginning where he left off March 26 when St. Philip’s defeated this college’s basketball team 91-76.

Threat contributed 28 points in the game against the Cardinals.

“I could have gotten a couple of more rebounds, but I shot the ball well,” Threat said.

Criminal justice sophomore Mark Anthony added to the offensive with 25 points of his own.

With the Tigers’ defense getting more than five

steals in the first 10 minutes, the Cardinals left the half trailing 53-39.

The Tigers continued to strip the ball more than five times in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

The St. Philip’s defense continued to dominate from inside the paint, which left UIW to shoot from beyond the arc.

UIW missed all of their 3-pointers in the second half.

The Tigers clung to victory throughout the remaining minutes.

The St. Philip’s Tigers will continue the playoffs at 8 p.m. Saturday versus the Northwest Vista College Wildcats at UIW’s Alice P. McDermott Convocation Center.

St. Philip’s is one of four teams competing in the playoffs.

This college’s Lady Rangers will face off against the Victoria College Pirates in the women’s semifinal playoff game at 2 p.m. Saturday also in UIW’s convocation center.

Criminal justice sophomore Mark Anthony barrels through the Cardinals’ defense on his way to the basket and a Tigers 105-98 victory Wednesday in the health and wellness center. Carlos Ferrand

10 • April 4, 2014

www.theranger.org/editorial

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the

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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 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.

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

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

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Guest Viewpoints: Faculty, staff, students and community members are welcome to contribute guest viewpoints of up to 450 words. Writers should focus on campus or current events in a critical, persuasive or interpretative style.

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

Letters Policy: The Ranger invites readers to share views by writing letters to the editor. Space limitations force the paper to limit letters to two double-spaced, typewritten pages. Letters will be edited for spelling, style, grammar, libel and length.

Editors reserve the right to deny publication of any letter.

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

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

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

METAMEDIA

Media not public enemy Whether you believe it or not, the press is here to help.

If journalists didn’t report on government, natural disasters or county fairs, how would you know about them?

The press tries its best to gather information and turn it over to the people, so they can make informed decisions or just dinner plans.

Journalists work hard to put the all the information together in a complete and understandable story.

Photojournalists work equally hard capturing images to present a clearer picture.

Regardless if the purpose of a story or photo is for entertainment, exposing governmental wrongdoing or remembering a person’s life through an obituary, the press is trying to help the public be informed.

In 1887, journalist Nellie Bly committed herself for 10 days to a mental asylum because she wanted to expose the terrible treatment and conditions.

Her articles changed the way mental health care operated and made the field more professional.

Journalism is full of examples of written words changing the world we live in.

Not every story or photo has such a polarized outcome, but the effect is the same.

In 2013, Associated Press photographer Jacquelyn Martin was taking photos of homeless people during Washington, D.C.’s, cold winter.

She snapped a photo of a young man lying on the sidewalk. He would only give the name Nick.

The photo was published in USA Today; a woman in upstate New York saw the photo and recognized the man as Nicholas Simmons, her missing son. The photo changed that mother’s world forever.

The media are not perfect, but their purpose is still to help the public by providing information people want or need.

Follow promoted principles Concerns of students and faculty should be understood according to Covey principles.

other Alamo Colleges have said they do not want to take a course based on a self-help book in addition to the student development The district administration approved course currently required. adding to the core curriculum EDUC 1300, These concerns are not being listened Learning Framework, a three-hour class to, so does the district administration think including the leadership principles of Stephen the choices they made – which are being R. Covey, author of “The 7 Habits of Highly opposed by so many – do not have conseEffective People.” quences because they refuse to consider However, district their choices are not itself is not following the best?

Covey principles.

The administraHabit 2 encourtion should also — ages to Begin with like Habit 5: Seek the End in Mind.

First to Understand, This asks readers to Then to be envision ideal charUnderstood — lisacteristics and goals. ten to the opposiThe Learning tion of EDUC 1300.

F r a m e w o r k The administraand Student tors are thinking Development comonly of themselves, mittee met March 28 instead of thinking of at this college to dissolutions that also bencuss who is going to teach Alexandra Nelipa efit students like Habit 4: the course and how to make sure Think Win-Win, states. the course is not similar to the current student If the students and faculty are not going to development course, SDEV 0370. be listened to, the least administrators could do Shouldn’t the district administration have is follow the principles they are trying to enact. already decided how much the book would Is the district administration exempt from cost and what goes into the book? following the same principles they want to use The administration is also breaking Habit 1: for their new course?

Be Proactive, which advises taking responsiIf students are expected to learn and use bility for choices and their consequences. the seven habits, then the district should be Students and faculty at this colleges and expected to follow them as well.

Big job, wasted time One dedicated student will represent a district’s worth of students’ voices and opinions as the student trustee.

Students at each college had the opportunity to apply for the one-year nonvoting position with the college’s SGA. The student trustee will spend late nights at board and committee meetings, special sessions and board retreats. For this, the student will receive a $600 scholarship.

Then there’s the alternate, who will do everything the student trustee is required to do and receives no award for it.

There is no scholarship attached to performing an equal amount of work.

The alternate is there just in case the trustee is unable to complete the term or is absent from a meeting.

Like the student trustee, the alternate can’t vote on issues but can’t be spared a decent fraction of the meager scholarship.

How fair is that?

Of the students who bothered to apply, they certainly weren’t aiming for the commitment of being the runner-up.

What student could possibly be satisfied with unrewarded work?

It’s not like an internship where students gain useful experience that might lead to a paying job. The district’s focus has been on workforce development, yet that aspect has be overlooked here.

Students’ time and money are not being well-spent.

Don’t waste a student’s time unless the alternate receives a scholarship, too.

Opinion

www.theranger.org/opinion

April 4, 2014 • 11

EDUC 1300 reinforces hackneyed clichés Critical thinking is an important part of education at Alamo Colleges.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Guest Board mandates viewpoint that we assess stuby Charles dents’ work for their critical thinkHinkley ing skills. It’s easy sac-ranger@ alamo.edu to understand why.

Education is more than memorizing facts and formulas; education is about solving problems, understanding different perspectives, challenging values, and imagining and planning for a better world.

Unfortunately, a new course, EDUC 1300/PSYC 1300, which displaces three hours of humanities in the core curriculum, is to some degree inconsistent with our commitment to critical thinking.

EDUC 1300 is meant as a vehicle to teach Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”

The following “principles” underlie the habits: Be Proactive; Begin with the End in Mind; Put First Things First; Think Win/Win; Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood; Synergize; and Sharpen the Saw. At best, these “principles” are clichés, and part of critical thinking entails challenging clichés.

For example, the idea that we

should put first things first is vacuous. Consider also the idea of thinking win/win. We can find many situations where we can find win-win solutions — e.g. children can share a toy or take turns at a game; buyers and sellers can agree on a fair price. Other times, someone wins and someone loses.

Recent disputes about tenure and EDUC 1300 displacing three hours of humanities in the core illustrate the point. Furthermore, we can argue that we should adopt other “principles” such as this: Develop a healthy skepticism.

Thinking critically about Covey’s ideas will identify them as trivial, as having many exceptions, or as sub-

ject to being displaced by alternative “principles.”

Conversely, if the Covey “principles” are not challenged, then we are not thinking critically about them. In that case, the “principles” are presented as gospel to indoctrinate students.

It didn’t have to be this way.

We could have introduced leadership ideas in an across-the-curriculum initiative that included adding to some courses, learning communities and special presentations.

Such an effort could have led to discussions about different kinds of leadership. Consider Warren Buffett and Martin Luther King Jr., Jesus and Cesar Chavez, Jonas Salk and Golda Meir.

We could have discussed the psychodynamics of inspiration and revolt, leadership and evolution, decision theory and virtuous leadership versus the dark side of power. None of this would have cost us a penny.

Instead, we paid more than $700,000 to get Covey’s clichés/principles. Such a decision was misguided, and shows that Chancellor Bruce Leslie’s and the board’s choice was fundamentally flawed procedurally and substantively.

Alamo Colleges, San Antonio, and surrounding communities deserve better.

Charles Hinkley is the coordinator of the humanities department at Northwest Vista College.

Though I may not be flying high, I am in control Like many high school graduates, I had no idea what I wanted to do in college.

I jumped from one career field to the next looking for the “cool” job.

One day, I googled “highViewpoint est paying job” and I came

by Ian across airline pilot as a career.

Coleman “You get to travel the world, meet new people and sac-ranger@ alamo.edu get a six-figure paycheck!” the websites proclaimed.

Who wouldn’t want a job like that?

I wanted be the James Bond of the skies.

Meet a woman in Paris, then have lunch in Rome and a nightcap in Berlin.

I moved from my parent’s house in San Antonio to an apartment in Waco in August of

2012 to attend the pilot certification program at Texas State Technical College.

The apartment wasn’t too bad. It was a first floor unit, about 550 square feet, which I shared with a roommate. It was complete with leaky faucets, stained carpets, a drafty door, neighbors upstairs who stomped around at all hours and a road outside my front door other students used as a drag strip. I had no parents telling me what to do, no rules to follow but my own and no responsibility. But I was also alone, with no friends and the closest relatives more than a twohour drive away.

When it came to flying, I loved it. It was new, exciting and challenging, at first. But the program, the extreme responsibility began to burden me.

I had class every day, and after that, a training flight with an instructor, but my downfall wasn’t from the program, rather a lack of sleep.

With all the extra time on my hands and unable to sleep, my mind began to race with thoughts of home. Add that to a rigorous training schedule and watching plane crash videos in my classes and that equaled insomnia. Every night, I lay awake growing anxious about the day to come.

How am I going to make friends? Is this what I really want to do with my life?

Also, did I forget to mention pilots are required at minimum a six-hour night of sleep?

I was getting about one or two hours a night.

I was exhausted most days. I ducked out of flights and retreated to my apartment. After a spell of almost 36 hours without sleep, it was time to throw in the towel.

I returned home defeated and ashamed.

The insomnia continued for two months. I sank into depression and went to a physician who

diagnosed me with “anxiety disorder.” Soon after, I attended counseling. After a few sessions, he told me, “Just because you couldn’t do one thing doesn’t mean you have to give up on everything else.”

These words and our sessions inspired me to get my act together. I went back to school and discovered what I had always loved to do, write.

So, did I drop out of pilot school? Yes. Did I continue to suffer with depression and anxiety? Yes. Does all this make me a loser? No! If anything these events allowed me to understand myself better. I learned to love myself wholly and to love others.

As William Ernest Henley concluded in his poem “Invictus,” “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.”

News

12 • April 4, 2014

Celebrate National Poetry Month with award-winning poets

By Pam Paz

sac-ranger@alamo.edu

National Poetry Month was started in April 1996 by the Academy of American Poets.

In honor of National Poetry Month, Celebration Circle, a local nonprofit organization that promotes spirituality and creativity, will host “Voices, Vibes and Visions” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 600 HemisFair Park.

“I think it’s really good to be part of National Poetry Month and bring awareness to the people who create words in our community,” co-founder and executive director Zet Baer said in an interview April 2.

The event will showcase four award-winning South Texas poets: Lahab Assef Al-Jundi, Amanda Flores, Sheila Black and John Philip Santos.

Rudi Harst, spiritual director and founder of Celebration Circle, will provide live music with the Circle Band combined with poetry readings.

Visual artists also will create live, improvisational works of art based on the readings.

“What’s different about this is that it’s so multidisciplinary; the words are the focus, but we’re involving visual artists and

musicians to interact and play with those words and their interpretation of those words,” Baer said. “There will be some communal creation happening.”

Santos is a San Antonio native who has been awarded the Academy of American Poets’ Prize at Notre Dame, among other awards.

Baer said the other poets would read their works first, and he will close the show.

Celebration Circle was founded in 1992 with about 75 members.

Today, it reaches an average of 5,500 individuals each month, Baer said.

This is the first time the organization will host a community event, though the group has had workshops.

The organization meets weekly for prayer, Sunday gatherings, children’s circle and Wednesday meditation. The group has monthly Shantikar meditation and semiannual retreats.

Depending on how successful the turnout is, the plan is to continue this event annually, Baer said.

Admission is a $10 donation. For more information, visit celebrationcircle.org.

www.theranger.org/news

Authors on tap for second book festival Literary Death March pits four authors in competition for rapid-fire performance.

By Manuel Bautista-Macias sac-ranger@alamo.edu

The San Antonio Public Library Foundation will bring 92 authors downtown for its second San Antonio Book Festival.

The festival will be 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Saturday in six areas of the Central Library, 600 Soledad St. Other portions of the festival will be at Southwest School of Art, 300 Augusta St.; and the Charline McCombs Empire Theater, 224 E. Houston St. The mission of the festival is to gather readers and writers to celebrate books, libraries and literacy culture, said Kaitlyn Crawford, assistant director of the festival who works for the library foundation.

“I’m a huge proponent of libraries,” English Adjunct Yon Hui Bell said, encouraging students to attend the festival.

Sometimes people tend to forget or take for granted how valuable the public libraries are, Bell said.

Last year, the book fair attracted about 4,000 people and featured 60 authors.

By attending this event, people will be supporting public libraries and literacy, Bell said.

Having the San Antonio Book Festival can help improve the literacy rate in San Antonio, Bell said.

This is a great opportunity for students to meet local writers and to support and value literacy, Bell said.

Author Sandra Cisneros, who wrote

“The House on Mango Street,” will perform her work and sign books at 1 p.m. on the west terrace on the third floor of the Central Library.

Kevin Powers, who was a finalist in the National Book Award for “The Yellow Birds,” will read from his work at 4:30 p.m. in the auditorium on the first floor of the Central Library.

San Antonio native Nick Kotz, who received a Pulitzer Prize in 1968 for national reporting for the Des Moines Register and Minneapolis Tribune, will also present his new book “The Harness Maker’s Dream: Nathan Kallison and the Rise of South Texas” at noon in the auditorium of the first floor in the Central Library.

Crawford said another author

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to see is Jane Pauley, who was anchor of “Dateline NBC” for 11 years, at 3:30 p.m. in the Empire Theater.

The festival is for all ages with outdoor actives and a performance stage.

Food trucks will be available, and the festival will offer recipe demonstrations by authors, such as Daniel Vaughan, “The Prophets of Smoke Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue,” 10 a.m.-11 a.m. at Southwest School of Art. The Literary Death Match will be 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m. in the Empire Theater.

The Literary Death Match consists of four authors performing their writing for less than seven minutes in front of three judges and the audience.

Authors participating in the Literary Death Match will be Malin Alegria, “Border Town: No Second Chances”; Owen Egerton, voted Best Local Author by the Austin Chronicle, “How Best to Avoid Dying”; Roxana Robinson, “Sparta”; and Antonio Sacre, “Mango in the Hand.”

The Literary Death Match has a $10 general admission, and tickets can be purchased at the door.

Free parking is available at Frost Bank, 100 W Houston St., or for $5 in the Central Library parking garage.

For more information and the event schedule, visit saplf.org or call at 210-207-2629.