Vol. 86 Issue 9
Nov. 14, 2011
Single copies free
THE RANGER A forum of free voices serving San Antonio College since 1926
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FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE 2 FERPA VS. EMAIL 7 STORY WE CAN’T TELL 11 Illustration by Alexandra Nelipa
Calendar
2 • Nov. 14, 2011
Spring registration Students currently enrolled in courses at the Alamo Colleges will be allowed to register based on the number of hours they have accumulated. New students and transfer students, regardless of hours earned, must wait until registration opens to all students. • • • • •
Today-Tuesday for students with 46 or more hours Wednesday for students with 31-45 hours Thursday for students with 16-29 hours Friday for students with 1-15 hours Nov. 21 for all students
Fall, Flex 2 Final Exam Schedule Monday, Dec. 5 (MWF and MW) Class 7 a.m. 10 a.m. 1 p.m. 3:50 p.m.
Time 7 a.m.-9:30 a.m. 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. 1 p.m.-3:30 p.m. 3:50 p.m.-6:20 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 6 (TR) Class 8 a.m. 10:50 a.m. 1 p.m. 1:40 p.m.
Time 8 a.m.-10:30 a.m. 10:50 a.m.-1:20 p.m. 1:40 p.m.-4:10 p.m. 1:40 p.m.-4:10 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 7 (MWF and MW) Class 8 a.m. 11 a.m. 2 p.m. 2:25 p.m.
Time 8 a.m.-10:30 a.m. 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. 2 p.m.-4:30 p.m. 2:25 p.m.-4:55 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 8 (TR) Class 6:30 a.m. 9:25 a.m. 12:15 p.m. 3:05 p.m.
Time 6:30 a.m.-9 a.m. 9:25 a.m.-11:55 p.m. 12:15 p.m.-2:45 p.m. 3:05 p.m.-5:35 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9 (MWF)
Class 9 a.m. Noon
Time 9 a.m.-11:30 noon-2:30 p.m.
Note: Final exams for evening and weekend classes are given during class hours. Department chairs can schedule final exam dates that do not conform to this schedule.
For coverage in Calendar, call 210-486-1773 or e-mail sac-ranger@alamo.edu two weeks in advance. Today Deadline: Submissions for Nov. 21 print issue, The Ranger’s last for the fall. SAC Transfer: UTSA 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m. on first floor of Chance. Continues 12:30 p.m.-3 p.m. by appointment in transfer center. Continues Nov. 23 and Nov. 28. Call 210-486-0864. SAC Meeting: Student Government Association noon in faculty and staff lounge of Loftin. Call 210-486-0125. SAC Meeting: Campus Activities Board 4 p.m. in faculty and staff lounge of Loftin. Call 210-486-0125. Tuesday SAC Transfer: St. Mary’s University 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on first floor of Chance. Continues Wednesday, Nov. 29 and Nov. 30. Call 210-486-0864. SAC Lecture: “International Students and Scholars” by Dr. William Davey 10 a.m.-noon in Room 120 of visual arts. Call 210-4850076. SAC Meeting: Campus Crusade for Christ 1:30 p.m. in Room 113 of chemistry and geology. Continues Tuesdays. Call 210-486-1233. SAC Event: Documentation Workshop: Citing Sources Correctly 2 p.m. in the writing center in Room 203 of Gonzales. Continues Nov. 29. Call 210-486-1433. SAC Transfer: University of the Incarnate Word 3:30 p.m.-6 p.m. on first floor of Chance. Continues 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Nov. 30. Call 210-486-0864. SAC Music: Early Music Ensemble 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. in theater in McCreless. Call 210-486-0255. Wednesday SAC Transfer: Texas A&M University
The Ranger
9 a.m.-noon on first floor of Chance. Call 210-486-0864.
Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Call 210486-0255.
SAC Event: South Texas Blood and Tissue Center blood drive 9 a.m.-2 p.m. in mall. Continues Thursday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. Call 210-3470808.
Friday SAC Meeting: Onstage Drama Club noon in Room 226 of McCreless. Continues Fridays. Call 210-486-0492.
SAC Event: Sixth annual Fashion Show by office of student life noon in Fiesta Room of Loftin. Call 210-486-0128.
SAC Event: Coffee Open Mic Night by Cheshyre Cheese Club 6 p.m.-9 p.m. in Loftin. Call 210-486-0125.
SAC Meeting: Black Student Alliance 12:30 p.m. in Room 613 of Moody. Continues Wednesday. Call 210-4860593.
SAC Event: “The Little Star that Could” 6:30 p.m., “Secret Lives of Stars” 7:45 p.m. and “Extreme Planets” 9 p.m. in Scobee Planetarium. $2 with Alamo Colleges ID, and children 4-17. Others $3-$5. Continues Fridays. Call 210-486-0100.
SAC Meeting: Psi Beta 3 p.m. in Room 642 of Moody. Continues Wednesdays. Call 210-486-1264 or email rross41@ alamo.edu. SAC Meeting: Gay and Lesbian Association 3 p.m. in Room 644 of Moody. Call 210-486-0673. SAC Meeting: Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science 3:30 p.m. in MESA Center. Continues Wednesday. Call 210-486-0342 or email mpackard2@alamo.edu.
Saturday SPC Performance: Resurrection Blues 8 p.m. in Watson. $5 with Alamo Colleges ID, $10 general admission. Continues Sunday and 2:30 p.m. Monday. Call 210486-2205. Nov. 21 SAC Music: Choral Concert 7:30 p.m. in auditorium of McAllister. Call 210486-0255.
Thursday Nov. 22 SAC Transfer: Our Lady of the Lake University 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on first floor of Chance. Continues Nov. 22. Call 210486-0864. SAC Event: Coping and Stress Management by office of student life 11 a.m. in Loftin. Call 210-486-0125. SAC Event: How to Integrate Quotations Successfully in Your Writing 2 p.m. in the writing center in Room 203 of Gonzales. Call 210-486-1433. SAC Meeting: Students United for the DREAM Act 4:30 p.m. in Room 103 of Gonzales. Continues Thursdays. Call 210683-5879. SAC Performance: “Hamlet” directed by Paula Rodriguez 7:30 p.m. in auditorium of McAllister. $2 with Alamo Colleges ID. $8-$10 others. Continues Friday,
SAC Event: Maid Cafe by the Japanese Club 8 a.m.-2 p.m. in Fiesta Room of Loftin. Call 210-486-0965. SAC Event: Strategies and Tools for 21st Century Researching 2 p.m. in writing center in Room 203 of Gonzales. Call 210-486-1433. SAC Music: Jazz Ensemble Concert 7:30 p.m. in auditorium of McAllister. Call 210486-0255.
Calendar Legend SAC: San Antonio College NVC: Northwest Vista College SPC: St. Philip’s College SWC: Southwest Campus PAC: Palo Alto College NLC: Northeast Lakeview College AC: Alamo Colleges
The Ranger
News
Nov. 14, 2011 • 3
Student activity fee increase discussed By Joshua Fechter Raising the $1 per-semesterhour student activity fee at this college was suggested at Tuesday’s College Council meeting as part of a discussion about funding college sports programs. Dr. Robert Vela, vice president of student affairs, suggested raising the fee to $2 per semester hour. However, the college cannot raise the fee unless the Alamo Colleges board approves raising it for all five colleges in the district. In April, the board reaffirmed district policy that forbids using operational funds and instead requires student activity fee funds and privately raised funds to support recreational sports teams. The student activity fee is currently $1 per semester hour and
raises about $400,000 annually at do it everywhere,” he said. this college. This college currently In an interview Wednesday, has five sports programs — men’s Zeigler said he asked SGA to survey and women’s soccer, boxing, wom- students here and at the other colen’s softball and men’s leges about raising the baseball. Student life fee. During the meetcould not provide their ing, Wong said he sent cost by press time. an email to student life Jacob Wong, directors at the other Student Government colleges in summer, Association president, but he received only suggested a separate one response three fee for sports promonths later. Go online for full grams. Zeigler said he has College Council Vela said the colraised increasing the coverage. lege cannot add a fee fee in district meetunless every college ings, but the decision does so. ultimately lies with students. President Robert Zeigler said In a phone interview he does not think there would be Wednesday, student life Director objections at the district level to Jorge Posadas said the committee’s raising the student activity fee. rationale for wanting to raise the “We can’t do it here unless we fee is rising costs and inflation,
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which according to usinflationcalculator.com, is 3.9 percent. Posadas said he presides over Student Activity Fee Committee meetings but does not have the authority to make suggestions to the committee. He said the committee has recommended raising the fee each year since it began in 2006 and sent that recommendation to the president. Although the committee determines the expenditure of student activity funds, its meetings are closed to the public. Posadas said this college’s large size means its student activity needs are greater. “If you have a family of one, you don’t need as much money, but if you have a family of 14, you kind of need a lot more to support that family,” he said.
4 • Nov. 14, 2011
People
The Ranger
Business freshman Annette Marie and political science sophomore Elijah Sullivan meet Wednesday in the mall west of Moody. Sullivan said of the weather, “I love it. It’s hoodie weather.” According to the National Weather Service, the temperature at noon was 64 and wind speed was 15 mph. Ingrid Wilgen
International studies sophomore Matthew Rodriguez used a mixer and Game Boy to create an unnamed musical composition during SAC’s Got Talent show Wednesday in Loftin. Rodriguez won first place, winning two screen passes to the movie “Jack and Jill” and an iPod Nano. Ingrid Wilgen
Physician assistant sophomore Cassie Rangel creates a painting characterizing abstract and non-representational artistic techniques Tuesday in visual arts. Rangel created the piece in preparation for an ARTS 2317, Painting 1, class. Ingrid Wilgen
Walter Soliez, biology sophomore at St. Philip’s College, guards as liberal arts freshman Christopher Sanchez and psychology freshman Carlos Abel-Mata take advantage of recreational hours for the pool in Candler. The hours are 1:15 p.m to 3:15 p.m Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Casandra Gonzales
The Ranger
News
Nov. 14, 2011 • 5
Occupy movement only beginning, political science professor says The veteran activist participated in United Farm Workers and Chicano rights movements.
Chicano rights since the late ’60s, graduating with a degree in jourBy J. Almendarez nalism and political science from the University of North Texas in For about two months, protesters have gathered at Wall Street in New 1967. He said, in the ’60s and early York City to protest corporate greed — or something. ’70s, Martin Luther King Jr. and Their intentions were not clear to the average American or the César Chávez emerged as leadmedia outlets they depend on or even to all the ers because they were activists people protesting. Despite and demUpcoming events are the muddled message onstrators Nov. 17 Occupy Wall Street to the public, Occupy alongside Mass Day of Action and movements have their peers. Dec. 10 Global Day of Action. sprung into They natuFor more information and existence rally wore leadto find a movement and other resources, go to www. throughout ership roles, occupytogether.org. the counwhich enabled try, includthem to speak ing in San Antonio. According with their peers and to officials. to OccupyTogether.org, there “Eventually, you had a face for the are 1,582 Occupy movements movement,” he said and predicted someacross the world, and The thing similar will happen with the Occupy New York Times numbers this movement. In fact, the Occupy Wall Street’s new Day 59. governance body, the Spokes Council, met for the The movements in America first time on Day 53. are often likened to the civil Piñon said the idea in the ‘60s was, “If the state rights, gay rights, women’s rights were to change, then maybe society will change.” and antiwar efforts of the 1960s, The Occupy movement, however, is not against which created a counthe state. According to various Occupy websites, ter culture of hippies, the movements’ focus is big business and the govpoliticos and baby ernment’s failure to regulate big business. boomers. Political The Occupy Wall Street website states that the science Professor movement “empowers real people to create real Fernando Piñón, change from the bottom up. We want to see a gensaid lack of organizaeral assembly in every backyard, on every street corner tion at the beginning of because we don’t need Wall Street and we don’t need a movement is normal. politicians to build a better society.” In 1965, Piñón Specific Occupy demonstrations throughout the marched with the world have varied demands because needs vary by locaUnited Farm tion. Workers But, Piñón said many movements stem from a genand has eral dissatisfaction with liberty. rallied He said liberty can be referred to as negative and positive liberty. for Negative liberty is freedom not inhibited by an outside factor. Positive liberty takes into account internal forces that become inhibiting to liberties. For instance, Piñón said all people can apply to Harvard University, but considering expenses and inequality in public school systems, many people cannot attend. “Can you really do it?” he asked. “What good does it do, then?” He predicts the occupiers will, in time, begin to register people to vote and ensure their issues are on ballots. “Actually synthesizing people to the importance of the vote,” Illustration by Alexandra Nelipa he said, is the key to change.
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The Ranger
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Nov. 14, 2011 • 7
Students required to use alamo.edu email All written communication between faculty and students is confidential. By Stefania Malacrida “Students shouldn’t use their personal emails at this college,” said Bridget Torres, associate director of residency and reports, during Employee Development Day Oct. 26. The Alamo Colleges adopted a policy in May 2011 that says the alamo.edu account, accessible through ACES, is the only official electronic method for communication. So, what should a teacher do when students still use their personal accounts? As an unofficial and temporary solution, Torres suggested faculty should reply once, but remind students of their alamo.edu addresses
and encourage them to use those. However, what should professors do if students continue to use a personal email or if a professor does not receive a reply to email addressed to an alamo.edu account because students do not check them? The college district does not have an answer. The new email policy was proposed by the department of student success to ensure students receive official district communication and do not run the risk of missing important notifications. The policy reads, “The emails are sent to students with the full expectation that students receive and read emails in a timely fashion.” However, teachers say students still massively use personal accounts because ACES is not always available and the district does not offer smartphone applications to make access
quicker and simpler. District legal counsel Retha Karnes said the colleges should get together and release a unified response on what to do in case students use personal email. Karnes said the use of personal accounts is not a legal issue but an administrative and educational one. “It is not illegal to use one’s personal email to communicate with teachers,” she said. Karnes said the legal issue relates to the content of emails, which are educational records and per the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, cannot be disclosed to the public. “All written communication — not oral communication — between faculty and students is an educational record and is, therefore, confidential,” Karnes said.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
College copes with FERPA and private emails By Stefania Malacrida At the beginning of each semester, professors typically ask students to give their contact information like their emails — a simple, innocent operation to better stay in touch with them. Well, if that paper runs around the class, “that is a big ‘no, no’ in terms of privacy issues,” said Bridget Torres, associate director of residency and reports. Torres held a session during Employee Development Day Oct. 26 about FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. She said faculty may collect students’ infor-
mation, such as personal emails, telephone numbers, schedules and working hours, but they may not disclose that information to other students who are not employees. Educational records are stored in Banner and are accessible to all school officials, such as instructors, staff, committees and the board of trustees. The U.S. Congress passed FERPA in 1974. The legislation controls how public educational institutions handle students’ information. The law distinguishes between two types of student data: directory information and educational records. Both types of information are
registered in Banner and are considered the student’s property. However, the institution must handle them differently. Public directory information includes a student’s name, dates of attendance, enrollment status, if they are enrolled part-time or fulltime, classification, major, previous institutions attended, degree awards and academic honors. The Banner system places a hold in directory information automatically for students who are minors and erases it when they come of age. For dual-credit minors attending the
CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
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8 • The Ranger
Campus to Austi By Alma Linda Manzanares
Staff Council distributed th Nov. 4 to faculty and staff mem holiday gifts for children of Sa School District’s Austin Academ the employee lounge in Loftin S Each red angel hanging from tree contained a child’s first na interest, said Enrique Castillo, w dent and an enrollment speciali Austin Academy teachers
A ceremony honors students for academic achievement Nov. 4, 2010, in McAllister. File Photo
Honors go to about 8,000 Eligible students were notified by ACES. By Diana Palomo Eight thousand students who attended this college from last year qualified on the basis of grade-point average for recognition in the annual honors ceremony. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and the ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the about 1,000-seat auditorium of McAllister Fine Arts Center. Students who would like to receive a certificate on stage must check in between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. with volunteers in the foyer so certificates can be prepared for the ceremony. The certificate states the honor was received in fall 2010 or spring 2011 or both. Eligible students were notified by email. Before the ceremony, the Student Jazz Combo will perform for about 20 minutes. Honor students are limited to two guests, and reserved seating is not allowed because of the limited space
in the auditorium. Certificates will be presented in alphabetical order. Students are asked to remain for the entire ceremony, which is expected to last about 1 1/2 hours. Crumpets Restaurant and Bakery will provide cookies and punch for a reception following the ceremony. To be eligible, students must have: • a cumulative 2.0 GPA to meet academic standards, • a non-cumulative GPA of 3.5-3.9 for Honors, • and a 4.0 GPA for President’s Honors. Certificates honor full-time students enrolled in 12 hours and parttime students enrolled in a minimum of six college-credit. Julie Cooper, public information officer, said students should have dedication in studying hard to have good grades because their future employers look at how well they did in class. Dr. Robert Zeigler, college president; Jacob Wong, Student Government Association president
The honors ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in McAllister Fine Arts Center. If students cannot attend, pick up the certificate 9 a.m.4 p.m. beginning Nov. 21 in the public relations office in Room 313 of Fletcher. and psychology sophomore; and Carlos Castaneda, Phi Theta Kappa president and senior at Travis Early College High School, will present remarks. Dr. Dawn Elmore McCrary, English professor, and Dr. Paul Wilson, social sciences chair, also will address the Honors Ceremony. If students do not attend the ceremony, they can pick up the certificate 9 a.m.-4 p.m. beginning Nov. 21 in Room 313, the public relations office, in Fletcher Administration Center. To have the certificate mailed, email name and address with honors certificate on the subject line to sacpr@alamo.edu. Expect to wait four to six weeks. For more information, call the public relations office at 210-4860881.
ed five boys and five girls fro grade from kindergarten throug whose names were tied to the an academy secretary Sally Rodrigu “Some of these kids don Christmas at all,” Rodriguez said parents are unemployed, and t many hardships. They are excite a little something.” In the past, the college’s An Project has been sponsored by women’s center and the counse ter. Staff Council decided to c giving to the children at Austi recevied school supplies colle school drive in August, Castillo s Rodriguez said the school su
miere
Nov. 14, 2011 • 9
s ‘angels’ spread joy in Academy children
he names of 90 children mbers, who will provide an Antonio Independent my. The exchange was in Student Center. m the decorated holiday ame, grade level and an who is Staff Council presiist. s select-
om each gh eighth ngel tree, uez said. n’t get a d. “Their they face ed to get
A “Christmas around the world” door decorating contest will occur Dec. 15. Doors should be completed by Dec. 12. An email with information about applications will be distributed soon. the children who showed up without supplies on the first day of school. Castillo thought 90 angels would be too many, but after they were all picked up, he still had volunteers wanting to donate money. “SAC has a caring heart to unfortu-
“Some of these kids don’t get a Christmas at all.”
nate kids,” Castillo said. Gifts priced between $15-$20 should be turned in before Dec. 5 to Paul Sanchez, senior secretary for the English department, in Room 123 of Gonzales Hall; assistant bursar Michelle Gable in Room 201 of Fletcher Administration Center; and clerk Cynthia Cruz in the continuing education registration office ngel Tree in Room 202 of Fletcher; or continuSally Rodriguez both the ing education specialist Anelia Luna in Austin Academy eling cenRoom 227 of the academic instruction secretary center, Castillo said. continue Gifts will be presented at 2 p.m. Dec. in Academy, which also 9 at Austin Academy, Castillo said. ected during a back-toMoney and gifts can be donated by calling Castillo said at 210-486-0641 or Staff Council Treasurer Jackie upplies were donated to Hernandez at 210-486-1409.
The Angel Tree Project donates gifts to Austin Academy students. Alex Solis
KSYM hosts 14th Alternative to Hunger By Jennifer Coronado
help Boysville for a second year because they were easy to work with and there was still a need. College radio station KSYM 90.1 FM will host its 14th annual Acevedo found the children’s home while reading a news story Alternative to Hunger fundraiser 6 p.m.–11 about the home struggling because of a lack p.m. Friday at Beethoven Maennerchor, 422 of donations. Five cans of food or $5 admit one person. One frozen turkey, one Pereida St. The event will feature live music from box of 50-plus diapers, or one Each year, the radio station secures a local artists Blackbird Sing at 7 p.m., Eddie 20-ounce powered baby formula free venue for the event and selects a local and the All-Nighters at 8 p.m., Los #3 admits five people. nonprofit to help by filling its pantry. Dinners at 9 p.m., and stand-up comedy Bob Flores, a media communications with Carlton Zeus at 10 p.m. department staffer, has attended the event every year and said stuLast year’s event raised $1,519.43 in cash, 33 turkeys, 1,286 cans dents try to find the smallest, most-in-need beneficiary. of food, 92 boxes of dry food and 13 containers of baby formula. “After realizing the impact of it, we were able to make it bigger Flores said, “It doesn’t matter if it’s a big donation or a small one, and better (each year),” Flores said. it all makes a difference.” For the second consecutive year, all proceeds will benefit For more information on Boysville, visit www.boysvilletexas. Boysville, a home for boys and girls. org. For more information on KSYM, call 210-486-1373 or email Volunteer disc jockey Victoria Acevedo said KSYM decided to ksym@alamo.edu.
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10 • Nov. 14, 2011 CONT. FROM PAGE 7 An educational record is any communication between students and employees about classes, academic matters and all counseling and advising that an employee, as an educator, may confer. According to the district’s email
CONT. FROM PAGE 7 Alamo Colleges, directory information is hidden in Banner and labeled “confidential.” All other personal data is considered part of a student’s educational record. Educational records, which include but are not limited to a student’s date of birth, grades, telephone number, personal email, transcripts and class schedules, are confidential and cannot be disclosed. “We never disclose a student’s grades, not even to a parent, nor do
News
The Ranger
policy, email communication between students and instructors should always be related to college activities and is an education record. A violation of FERPA occurs if any educational record leaves the college. However, the basic prob-
lem remains how to encourage students to develop the habit of checking alamo.edu accounts on a regular basis, Karnes said. If the district expects students to check their ACES emails, Karnes said, the five colleges should develop a common, unique strategy to promote it.
we say where a student is on certain days and hours,” Torres said. Educational records include all content that a student emails to a professor. Any essay, exercise, conversation and piece of communication, if related to academic activities, is confidential and cannot leave the college — even if they use a personal email. College officials may disclose educational records without permission in emergency situations such as, for example, if a student has suddenly a health problem and
needs a relative or friend to come and pick him or her up, and if a parent or a legal guardian requires it and submits a tax disclosure form that proves the student is dependent. Other than that, “we never reveal where a student is on campus,” Torres said. “A person asking for information could be a stalker or a disgruntled boyfriend or girlfriend,” she said. Torres, who has worked at this college for 30 years, said, “I have seen many things happen during my career.”
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The Ranger
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Nov. 14, 2011 • 11
Rape, recovery, formation of support group still in dark By J. Almendarez Just over a year ago, a man allegedly raped his girlfriend. She filed a police report, but he was never prosecuted because there was no evidence linking him to the crime. A classic case of hesaid, she-said. She described her experience at the police department as mortifying. Police asked her to recount the rape in an open lobby of the station. Her father confirmed her experience. She has been to counseling to cope with the trauma of rape and was angered to find that the seventh largest U.S. city has only one rape crisis center. The center is in the David Coy Building in Building 2, Suite 201 off of U.S. Highway 90 West, just a few miles from where she was raped.
Even going to the center, having to drive by the neighborhood where she was raped, was traumatizing for her. So, she started an organization to allow rape survivors to connect to each other and to encourage people to fight for a change involving how men are prosecuted for rape and how women are treated when reporting a rape. She rallies women to distribute fliers and share their experiences. The details of her story were not published in The Ranger last spring though originally slated to run as a cover story with color photos. That story may never appear in print anywhere. Despite removing the alleged rapist’s identifying information, The Ranger could have been committing libel to print it. Libel is defined as a false statement, written or broadcast,
for
which causes a person to be publicly hated, held in contempt or ridicule; be shunned or avoided; or injure themselves, their business or profession. The three elements necessary for libel to occur are identification, defamation and publication. Publishing the rape survivor’s name or photo could result in identification because anybody who knew the two had dated might be able to identify the alleged rapist. Because he was not prosecuted or found guilty in a court of law, there is no proof the rape took place; therefore, he could claim defamation if the story were published. Not running the story saved The Ranger from a potential libel suit; however, the story about a topic often left in the pitch black underworld was again ignored. According to the Rape, Abuse
and Incest National Network, twothirds of sexual assaults are committed by someone known to the victim, and 38 percent of rapes are perpetrated by an acquaintance. The FBI states 84,767 forcible rapes were reported to law enforcement in 2010, a 5 percent drop from 2009. However, the National Center for Victims of Crime estimates that 45 percent of rapes were not reported in 2009. Rape is defined by the FBI as “the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will.” The definition was penned more than 80 years ago. These statistics are available to anyone with access to a computer and a search engine; however, the story of a rape that offers vital insight into relationships, trust, healing and courage is not.
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12 • Nov. 14, 2011
Editorial
The Ranger
Juan Carlos Campos
Aspiring professors beware The adjunct faculty at this college is increasing, while At a student leadership forum Oct. 27 at Northeast the number of courses being taught is decreasing. Lakeview College, Chancellor Bruce Leslie told a student As is tradition at this college, the increase in adjuncts aspiring to become a college professor that although the was done in the name of cost-cutting. number of adjunct professors is increasing nationally, the How about cutting from the top down? student shouldn’t worry about finding a According to the Texas Tribune, which job after graduation. A student leadership forum has a database of salaries of public Leslie said many adjuncts in this disat this college is at 1:30 p.m. employees, 157 people working for this trict make a living teaching as adjuncts Dec. 1 in the faculty and staff lounge. For more information, district have six-figure salaries. at several colleges and universities within call 210-485-0792. How many full-time faculty members the city and that hopefully, “one of those could that pay? institutions” will offer them health insurHow many courses might that open to ance. students? Of course! Who doesn’t want to crisscross town through While many faculty members started their teaching traffic daily just to get to another low-paying, high demand, careers as adjuncts, as Leslie pointed out, they at least had benefitless job, or drive to a neighboring city two days a a good chance of becoming full-time faculty. week to teach? Graduates of the 21st century do not have that optiWho doesn’t want to learn three grading systems, three mism. university systems, cash three pay checks and pay for The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which updates Texas’ three parking passes? employment rates monthly, listed the unemployment of Complaints about $50 permits pale in comparison to 20to 24-year-olds, as of October, at 14 percent. UTSA ($150-$750) and Texas State University-San Marcos Today’s generation is doomed to linger in a limbo of ($75 to $250). The Alamo Colleges does not offer adjuncts health care career uncertainty for a long time, so choose your career path wisely. as part of their employment contract.
The Ranger
Editorial
Board unaccountable At the Alamo Colleges board of trustees’ Oct. 25 meeting, District 8 trustee Gary Beitzel said, “There seems to be inequity in that it takes more to fire tenured (faculty) than nontenured (faculty.)” District 9 trustee James Rindfuss agreed, stating, “That’s the real problem.” Trustees view tenure as a roadblock to “accountability” for decadent professors who do not contribute to student success. Trustees want to be able to fire faculty for any or no reason without using the extensive procedure for dismissing tenured faculty they approved in 2009. Despite this warped view of accountability, the board remains accountable only to dismal voter turnout. Trustees serve six-year terms so if the public winds up with a trustee they do not like, they must wait six years to oust them. During that time, trustees may pass whatever policies they wish, no matter how they affect the colleges, students, faculty or staff. They are not accountable. Time and again, trustees dismiss employee input as extraneous instead of considering the voices of experience. Trustees certainly aren’t accountable to faculty: after they heard tes-
Trustees discuss assistant radiography professor Angela Wilson’s tenure contract at a board meeting Oct. 25. Wilson did not receive tenure after receiving a Stage 3 final warning for not following procedure when removing radiology students from a facility after students complained of sexual harassment there. Two other co-workers received the same warning, but remained employed because they are tenured, prompting trustees to attempt to fix the tenure “problem.” Riley Stephens
timony from Faculty Senate Chair Dawn Elmore-McCrary asking them to maintain the 2.5 percent ORP supplement, a committee voted to end the supplement and take the matter to the full board. The district has a policy for removing tenured faculty, but where’s the policy for removing board members? Who are they accountable to?
Refresh with fruit, veggies Along with the stress of everyday life, our bodies have to process the foods we eat, which can be difficult if we eat nothing but take-out to accommodate busy schedules. Unfortunately, fast food is so processed and lacking in healthy nutrients that it can slow down the body, making a busy day much more difficult to handle. Instead of letting a busy schedule decide what you eat, take at least 10 minutes to snack on fruits and vegetables or include them in your meals, which can give you an added boost to better deal with the stresses of daily life.
Websites such as Fatsecret.com as well as similar free apps found on Android phones and iPhones offer a platform to keep track of personal statistics such as caloric intake, food content and minutes of exercise. Apps are available to help with grocery lists where your healthy planning must start. They display nutritional facts about your purchases or the places you eat. Take the extra minutes to grab a healthy snack to stow in your backpack each morning and then to sit still while you eat and enjoy it. Do it now or regret it later.
Nov. 14, 2011 • 13
DegreeWorks a big waste DegreeWorks, a degree auditing software integrated with Banner, will be available today to provide academic advising, degree auditing and transfer credit evaluations, according to the Sungard Higher Education website. The software will show coursework needed to complete a degree. Or students can keep up with this by printing a degree plan at http:// legacy.alamo.edu/sac/csd/grad/ html/associate_degree_forms.htm. But as the college is moving to a paperless system, the software was purchased last spring for $151,000. But that wasn’t enough. The district is considering purchasing an upgrade from DegreeWorks 4.0 to 4.9. That means more money wasted on unnecessary software. Kudos for trying to “go green.” With a tech-savvy generation and budget constraints, it makes sense to move everything online, but it would definitely cost less for students to just print out a copy of the degree plan (or copy it to a flash drive to stay green). But let’s face it: This is not rocket science. If you can read, you can decipher a degree plan. Students used to get a walkthrough of a degree plan with an adviser. All their questions could quickly be answered. Software can’t do that. Katherine Beaumont, recruiter and adviser at the center for academic transitions at Palo Alto College, said the software would not eliminate the need for counselors or advisers. She’s right. Just because information is available doesn’t mean students will avail themselves of it. If district officials think this lightweight piece of software is going to fill the void left by reassigning counselors to save money, they really have no idea who our students are and what they really need.
14 • Nov. 14, 2011
Trustees District 1: Joe Alderete Jr. 1602 Hillcrest Drive San Antonio TX 78228 Cell: 210-863-9500 Home: 210-434-6967 E-mail: jvajr711@aol.com, jalderete21@alamo.edu District 2: Denver McClendon 3811 Willowwood Blvd. San Antonio, TX 78219 Work: 210-281-9141 E-mail: denvermcclendon@satx.rr.com, dmcclendon2@alamo.edu District 3: Anna U. Bustamante 511 Ware Blvd., San Antonio TX 78221 Work: 210-882-1606 Home: 210-921-2986 E-mail: abustamante20@alamo.edu District 4: Marcelo S. Casillas 115 Wainwright, San Antonio TX 78211 No telephone number provided Board of trustees liaison: 210-485-0030 E-mail: mcasillas19@alamo.edu District 5: Roberto Zárate 4103 Buffalo Bayou, San Antonio TX 78251 No telephone number provided E-mail: rzarate11@alamo.edu District 6: Dr. Gene Sprague 14722 Iron Horse Way Helotes TX 78023 Work: 210-567-4865 E-mail: sprague1@alamo.edu District 7: Blakely Latham Fernandez 3707 N. St. Mary Street San Antonio TX 78212 Work: 210-538-9935 E-mail: bfernandez35@alamo.edu, bfernandez@tuggeyllp.com District 8: Gary Beitzel 15403 Forest Mist, San Antonio TX 78232 Home: 210-496-5857 E-mail: gbeitzel@alamo.edu District 9: James A. Rindfuss 13315 Thessaly, Universal City, TX 78148 Home: 210-828-4630 Work: 210-375-2555 E-mail: jrindfuss@alamo.edu
The Ranger
The Ranger Editor J. Almendarez
News Editor Joshua Fechter Calendar/Opinion Editor Alma Linda Manzanares Photo Editor Ingrid Wilgen Photo Team Julianna Anaya, Rachael L. Emond, Casandra Gonzales, Celeste Kulla, Ivie Okungbowa, Valerie Marie Salazar, Katie Sheridan, Alex Solis, Riley Stephens Illustrators Juan Carlos Campos, Alexandra Nelipa, Fred Nockroes Staff Writers Brian Burdick, Sebastian Carter, Jennifer Coronado, Marc Cunningham, Faith Duarte, David Espinoza, Jennifer Flores, Sara Garza, Kirk Hanes, Stefania Malacrida, Robert Medina, Diana Palomo Multimedia Editor Jennifer M. Ytuarte Production Manager Melody Mendoza Web Editor Jacob Beltran
Administrators Chancellor: Dr. Bruce H. Leslie 201 W. Sheridan, Bldg. B, San Antonio TX 78204-1429 Work: 210-485-0020 Fax: 210-486-9166 E-mail: bleslie@alamo.edu San Antonio College, Dr. Robert E. Zeigler 210-486-0959, rzeigler@alamo.edu Northeast Lakeview College, Dr. Eric Reno 210-486-5484, ereno@alamo.edu Northwest Vista College, Dr. Jacqueline Claunch 210-486-4900, jclaunch@alamo.edu Palo Alto College, Dr. Ana M. “Cha” Guzman 210-486-3960, aguzman@alamo.edu St. Philip’s College, Dr. Adena W. Loston 210-486-2900, aloston@alamo.edu
©2011 by The Ranger staff, San Antonio College, 1300 San Pedro Ave., San Antonio, TX 78212-4299. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission. The Ranger news outlets, which serve the Alamo Community College District, are laboratory projects of journalism classes in the Department of Media Communications at San Antonio College. The Ranger is published Mondays except during summer, holidays and examinations. The Ranger Online is available at www.theranger.org. News contributions accepted by telephone (210-486-1773), by fax (210-486-9292), by email (sac-ranger@alamo.edu) or at the editorial office (Room 212 of Loftin Student Center). Advertising rates available upon request by phone (210486-1765) or as a download at www.theranger.org. The Ranger is a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association, the Associated Collegiate Press and the Texas Community College Journalism Association.
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The Ranger
News
Nov. 14, 2011 • 16
A training mannequin lays in the newly renovated embalming lab in Room 236 of Nail. The mortuary science department can now allow students to complete 10 required embalming procedures on campus. Casandra Gonzales
College gains OK for on-campus embalmings State law now allows the mortuary science department to operate a funeral home on campus. By Robert Medina The Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 651, previously stated a funeral home could not be located on tax-exempt property. Petition efforts by mortuary science faculty at this college resulted in a change in that law as long as the tax-exempt property is in an institution of higher learning with an accredited mortuary science program. To get the law revised, mortuary science Chair Felix Gonzales and some of his faculty members approached state Sen. Leticia Van De Putte and District 120 state Rep. Mike Villarreal to sponsor legislation to change the wording preventing the department from establishing a facility on campus to meet lab needs. The first and most pressing concern for the mortuary science department is to be able to provide embalming services. Mortuary science students must complete 10 procedures for an associate of applied sci-
ence degree. the end of the semester, they receive a grade Thanks to the change in state law, the of “I” for incomplete until the requirement is University of Texas Health Science Center at fulfilled. San Antonio is in the process of establishing a Although an on-campus funeral home may partnership with the department provide students with an opportuhere allowing them to provide all nity to further practice their craft, of the embalming services for the Gonzales said, “That’s a dream, and State Anatomical Board. it would be more than unrealistic The Alamo Colleges legal departof me to expect that that’s going to ment is in the process of approving happen any time soon.” a memorandum of understanding Gonzales also said the best they between the Alamo Colleges on could do for right now is use a facilbehalf of San Antonio College mority that could be adapted, but there’s tuary science department and the also the consideration of personnel, Felix Gonzales center. liabilities and more. The memorandum will allow mortuary sci“Even though we are licensed to that kind ence students to embalm bodies donated to the of function, we’re not in a position to where State Anatomical Board for scientific research. we could do it to people’s satisfaction. So why The embalming lab in Room 236 of Nail would we want to start off not satisfying peoTechnical offers students an opportunity to ple?” embalm bodies without having to leave camThe department is awaiting approval from pus. the Alamo Colleges legal department to begin To participate in embalming labs at the working. present, students commute to funeral homes For more information on mortuary science, around the city. call student services assistant Cynthia Escatel at If students cannot complete 10 labs before 210-486-1137.